A Break from Monotony
by laurenlongoria
Summary: That Sirius Black is such a prat.
1. Chapter 1

_A Break from Monotony, _or, _How That Idiot Sirius Black Managed to Charm Me_

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: The fabulous Ms. Rowling is the owner of all characters from the Harry Potter series. Credit is given where credit is due.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

**Hogwarts**

"Run through the brick wall? You are joking, right?" Eleven-year-old Morgana asked her parents, her right hand resting on her hip. "Last time I checked, brick was solid."

Malcolm rolled his eyes at his little sister. "I have run through this wall five times now, little sister. If I can do it, you can too. I _believe _in you, Morgana."

"Okay, you don't have to take that tone with me, _Mister_," Morgana responded testily to her haughty older brother. "If you've done it so many times before, why don't you do it now?"

Malcolm Woodsworth, without any words, wheeled his cart around, waited for a large group of Muggles to pass, and ran toward the brick wall. Instead of crashing, he disappeared.

Morgana didn't _like _to admit it, but it was pretty cool magic.

"What incantation is he using to get through the wall?" Morgana asked her parents.

"Morgana, please stop asking impertinent questions," Her mother, Martha, said wearily. "It's nearly eleven; you'll miss the train if you don't hurry."

"I really don't understand, mum!" Morgana whined.

Martha sighed, and looked to her husband. "Richard, perhaps you can explain. She listens to you."

Richard, Morgana's father, placed a hand on her shoulder. "There isn't an incantation, sweetie. There's no spell; no need for wandwork. You just run at the barrier and it will open for you."

Morgana looked nervously at her father. "I don't know, dad..."

"Here, let's go together, shall we?"

Morgana nodded. She glanced back at her mother, who was standing with her arms crossed. Her father pushed her trolley toward the brick abutment. They were rapidly approaching the wall. They were going to crash. They were going to look like fools. How would they explain this to the guards? They were going to get booted from King's Cross. How embarrassing.

Morgana squeezed her eyes shut, but kept jogging toward the wall. When she did not feel any solid force, she nervously opened her eyes again. She was no longer at King's Cross Station, but on Platform 9 and ¾.

Malcolm, with his shiny Prefect badge, was smiling from the platform. "I knew you could do it, little sister."

"Okay, seriously, _big brother_, I'm not a baby. Stop talking to me like I am one," Morgana said.

"You'll always be a baby to me," Malcolm said in a sickly sweet voice, and pinched her cheek.

"Malcolm! Stop!" Morgana yelled, swatting his hand a way. "Dad, make him stop!"

"Malcolm, leave your sister alone," Their father said. "You're old enough to know better."

Malcolm sighed. "Where'd mum go?"

"She's on the other side of the barrier. I suppose she intends on staying there…" Richard glanced over his shoulder, expecting his wife to appear on the other side of the barrier. He frowned. "Well, I guess it's just me then."

Malcolm stuck out his hand for his father to shake. "See you at Christmas, father." Malcolm strutted off, presumably to meet his other Prefect friends. Hah. Friends.

Morgana turned to her father. He hugged her tightly. "I love you very much, sweetie. And so does your mum."

"Love you too, dad," Morgana replied. "Promise you'll write?"

Richard chuckled. "Of course, sweetie. We'll see you at Christmas, okay?" Morgana nodded. "You better get moving; I expect the train will be leaving in two minutes or so."

They hugged each other once more, and Morgana grasped the handle of the trolley. She began to wheel it away, but suddenly turned and waved to her dad. "Bye, dad!"

"Bye, Morgana!" He waved back, a wide smile on his face. "Have fun at Hogwarts!"

x

The train ride was relatively uneventful. Morgana sat in the first year car with three other girls. Two wanted to be in Ravenclaw, and the other was doomed to be in Slytherin. They were friendly enough, but Morgana seriously hoped that she would meet more interesting people once she arrived at Hogwarts.

Or, at least people with senses of humor.

It was raining very hard when the Hogwarts Express pulled into the Hogsmeade Station. Morgana heard two older boys snigger at the first years. "Have fun in the boats," one called.

There was a massive man calling for first years at the edge of the station. Nervously, Morgana approached the tall, wild looking man.

"Firs' years, this way!" He was shouting. Slowly, first years gathered around, each looking as nervous and frightened at Morgana felt.

"We'll be takin' th' boats ta 'Ogwarts," The man said. "Come along, then."

"But, sir, it's raining!" A girl cried out. "We'll get soaked!"

"It's tradition fer firs' years' ta go on th' boats," He responded. "Don' ye worry yerself. We'll get ye nice and warmed up once we get ta' 'Ogwarts."

The boats were built to hold four people, and Morgana instantly saw people grouping off. She sighed. Without a doubt, she would get stuck with the three girls she was on the train with.

She clambered into one of the boats, and waited. Eventually, the three girls came up to the side of the boat. Without asking, or really even acknowledging her, the three climbed in and began chatting.

There must have been some sort of enchantment on the boats, because once they were all filled, all of the boats began moving forward simultaneously.

The black water glistened underneath them, reflecting the light from the lanterns in each boat. It was beautiful, but eerie, too. "What if one of us fell in?" One of the girls asked.

"My brother Maxwell says that the Giant Squid will get you and drag you down to the depths of the Black Lake," Morgana commented, quite seriously.

The other girls laughed.

"No, I'm serious," Morgana said. "It happened to one of the boys in his year."

Horrified, the girls immediately stopped laughing. She smiled to herself. That never actually happened.

The boats rounded a bend, and Hogwarts came into view. Everyone oohh'd and awww'd at the sight of the magnificent towers and twinkling lights.

Morgana stared up toward the castle. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her entire life. She could hardly imagine that, in a few minutes' time, she would be entering Hogwarts for the very first time.

The boats approached Hogwarts quickly, and before Morgana knew it, the tall man was ushering them from the boats and to land. The first years were freezing, many soaked to the bone from the torrential downpour. Morgana looked up in amazement at the wrought iron gates.

The rain was getting much worse. The first years were quick to follow the giant man into the Hogwarts grounds and through the wrought iron gates. They walked a short distance and stopped at two huge, oak doors. "I imagine Professor McGonagall will be with ye shortly,"

The first years, shivering, stood anxiously at the entrance of the Great Hall. Many were whispering, wondering if they would have to do some sort of magic in order to be sorted. "My sister told me we would have to fight a dragon!" One girl said.

"Don't be stupid, it's a hag we have to fight!"

"No, it's my mum you have to fight!" A boy shouted. Many people began to laugh loudly. The laughter died almost immediately as the doors to the Great Hall opened. A witch stood before them, her hair pulled back into a tight bun and a large witch's hat adorned her head. Her robes were dark green. Perhaps she was the Slytherin Head of House? She looked stern enough to be.

"This way, please, for the sorting," She said, and gestured for them to follow her.

The horde of first years meandered into the hall. Morgana's eyes were instantly adverted to the ceiling, which was mimicking the sky outside. For a moment, Morgana thought that, perhaps, there wasn't a ceiling, but when rain did not fall, she assumed a charm was placed on the ceiling to make it look like the sky.

The first years gathered in a bunch in the center of the Great Hall, very aware that every other Hogwarts student was staring at them. The stern looking professor cleared her throat.

"I shall call your name, and you will approach the front of the Hall. I will place the Sorting Hat upon your head, and you will be sorted into your house. There are four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Once you are sorted, you will join your classmates at your respective table,"

She conjured a large piece of parchment and read the first name. "Ainger, Christopher!"

Ainger, Christopher was sorted into Slytherin. Morgana, for the most part, tuned everything out. She waited eagerly for her own name to be called. Considering her last name was "Woodsworth", she knew she would be waiting awhile.

"Black, Sirius!"

A handsome boy with black hair approached the front of the Hall. The hat was placed upon his mop of hair. For a very long time, it contemplated Black, Sirius' fate. Five minutes passed before the hat shouted, "Gryffindor!"

Black, Sirius seemed very pleased, and practically _skipped _to the Gryffindor table.

A few more names passed, and Morgana was beginning to grow restless. How many first years could their possibly be?

"Evans, Lily!"

A girl with long, red hair walked confidently toward the stool and hat. The hat had barely touched her head when it pronounced, "Gryffindor!" Evans, Lily smiled and joined the whooping and cheering Gryffindors.

Morgana's stomach grumbled. _Okay, seriously getting hungry now, _she thought to herself. _I could use some food right about now._

"Lupin, Remus!"

_What an odd name,_ Morgana thought. _Sounds like...a dog...or something. _

Lupin, Remus was sorted into Gryffindor, and was content to join Black, Sirius at the long table.

Morgana's legs were getting tired. She had been standing for such a long time. How many people had last names that started with _P_ this year?

"Pettigrew, Peter!"

_That's an unfortunate name, too, _Morgana mused. _Petty. Grew. Petty-grew. _She mouthed the last name. She wasn't sure why it amused her so, but it did. He was sorted into Gryffindor, and joined the handsome kid and his dog friend at the Gryffindor table.

"Potter, James!"

_Merlin! How many are left? _Morgana thought. _I'm going to die of starvation!_

Fortunately, the horde of first years was dwindling. Potter, James was sorted into Gryffindor, and then there was a jump to the letter _S._

"Snape, Severus!"

_That is a terrible name. If he's not in Slytherin, I don't know what I will do with myself._

Unsurprisingly, Snape, Severus was sorted into Slytherin. He didn't seem very happy about it. His lank hair hung over his white face.

And finally – "Woodsworth, Morgana!"

Morgana breathed a sigh of relief, but suddenly realized what was meant by her name being called. _Okay, just breathe. It's okay. You will do fine._

The Sorting Hat was placed on Morgana's head.

"Oh, a Woodsworth. I haven't seen a Woodsworth in five years. Hmm, but not a typical Woodsworth. Very smart, yes, incredibly intelligent. Very good at problem solving, I see. But, what's this? A desire for acknowledgement? Not content for being seen and not heard. Hmm. Difficult, very difficult."

This banter went on for a good seven minutes. The hat could not decide which house would be best for Morgana – Ravenclaw or Gryffindor.

Morgana felt her cheeks burning red. Her sorting was taking much longer than anyone else's.

"Very loyal friend, yes, but schoolwork nearly always comes first,"

_Just pick a house already! _Morgana thought impatiently.

"I am trying to pick a house, Miss Woodsworth, but your mind is split, however. You desire to fit in with your family, and to make them proud, but you also desire to be the black sheep,"

Everyone was staring at her. Some were whispering, "What's taking so long?" and "Doesn't the Sorting Hat know where to put her?"

"Black sheep," The hat repeated. "Hmm…"

Morgana held her breath. She could feel the decision coming.

"Better be…"

_Merlin's pants._

"Gryffindor!"


	2. Chapter 2

_A Break from Monotony, _or, _How That Idiot Sirius Black Managed to Charm Me_

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: The fabulous Ms. Rowling is the owner of all characters from the Harry Potter series. Credit is given where credit is due.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

**The Gryffindor Tower**

"Two Hatstalls in one year!"

"Both Gryffindors!"

"Amazing!"

"...can't believe it!"

"Just wait 'til mum hears about this!"

Morgana's head was swimming. She was sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table, not sure whether to eat something or puke all over the place. Everyone kept turning and twisting to look at her. It made her very uncomfortable. She had never been paid this much attention before in her entire life.

The other Hatstall, on the other hand, seemed to be soaking it all up. He _loved _the attention he was getting from the rest of the school.

Morgana tried her absolute hardest to blend in with the table, but Black, Sirius made sure she would not be mistaken for an ancient slab of wood.

He sauntered down the aisle, making his way toward the open seat next to Morgana. He was wearing a wide smile, what Morgana assumed to be what he thought was his winning smile. It would have been if there hadn't been a sprig of spinach stuck between his front teeth.

"Hello there, fellow Gryffindor and Hatstall," He said charmingly, sitting down next to her. "My name is-"

"Sirius Black, yes. I know," Morgana said, perhaps too rudely.

"And you are...?" Sirius asked, not fazed by Morgana's lack of friendliness. He was a resilient boy, that Sirius Black.

"Morgana Woodsworth," She responded. "And you have spinach in your teeth."

"Splendid," Sirius said, covering his mouth. "Can I call you Morgan?"

"No,"

"Morgie?"

"No,"

"Morgue?"

"Definitely not,"

"Morgana it is," Sirius smiled, but did not show his teeth. "What other house did the hat want to put you in?"

"Ravenclaw," Morgana answered. "I suppose you want me to ask you the same question?"

Sirius, who was now realizing that his charm was not working on Morgana, frowned. "Slytherin. My whole family is there."

"That's nice,"

"If you like Death Eaters, I suppose," Sirius said and shrugged. "Well, Hatstall, it was nice meeting you. I do believe we will be the most popular first years of them all!"

"Delightful," Morgana responded, sardonically. She forced a smile at the boy. The smile was more of a grimace, but Sirius did not seem to notice.

"See you in the common room, then, _Morgana_," He said, winking and getting out of the seat. He walked back to his seat next to Potter, James, who was staring unabashedly down the length of the table at Morgana.

"I really hope not," She muttered to herself, and helped herself to a large spoonful of mashed potatoes.

x

The feast came to a close when Professor Dumbledore stood once more. "Mr. Filch would like me to tell first years and remind returning students that magic is prohibited in the corridors, and that all students who are found out of bounds, whether after curfew or not, will be hung by their thumbs in the dungeons. Now, off to bed! Sweet dreams!"

Morgana stood with the rest of the Gryffindors, and made to follow the Head Boy and Girl to the common room.

"Morgana!"

Morgana whipped around, only to find her older brother, Malcolm, chasing after her. "What, Malcolm?" She asked.

"Gryffindor? How come you're in Gryffindor?" He asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Why didn't the hat put you in Ravenclaw?"

"Perhaps the hat thinks I'd be better suited in a house that knows the meaning of kindness and loyalty," Morgana answered through gritted teeth. "Now, if you wouldn't mind,"

Morgana removed Malcolm's hand from her shoulder and hurried to catch up with the other Gryffindors, who were already on the second floor.

She found herself walking behind Sirius Black and James Potter, and a gaggle of giggling girls. She rolled her eyes, and attempted to get past them, but could not.

"Ah, Morgana!" Sirius called. "How nice of you to join us!"

"My pleasure," She said sarcastically. "If you wouldn't mind letting me past you-"

"Won't you be kind enough to meet my new friends?" Sirius asked, moving over so Morgana could not pass him. "This is James Potter, my fellow troublemaker and lady killer."

James stuck out his hand, expecting Morgana to shake it. "Pleasure, Morgana."

"Yeah, alright," Morgana said, and briefly shook his hand.

"And this is Susie – ah, what was your last name, dear? I'm so sorry, I've forgotten," Sirius said, referring to a plump girl with frizzy hair and outrageous freckles.

She blushed harder than Morgana had ever seen anyone blush before.

"Sommers," She answered, suppressing a giggle.

"Susie Sommers, yes, my favorite season!" Sirius said. "And this is Geraldine Humburger – I can remember your last name; it has my favorite Muggle food in it!"

Morgana nodded her head at a tall, black haired girl with enormous brown eyes. She looked as if she was very surprised about something. Morgana assumed that was just the way her face looked.

"And this is Judith – can I call you Judy? – Wynn," Sirius finished, referring to a blond girl with translucent eyelashes and brows. She nodded, answering Sirius' question. She did not seem nearly as excited to be in the presence of two handsome boys, but merely bored.

Morgana nodded at her, and smiled. She had a feeling she was going to like Judy.

"Everyone, this is Morgana Woodsworth," Sirius finally said. "She's the _other _Hatstall!"

"I do have other redeeming qualities," Morgana said. "But yes, it is very nice to meet you all,"

"I'm sure you are all eager to make friends," Said the Head Boy, who had apparently left his post at the front of the Gryffindors, "But it would be prudent of you to keep up with the rest of the group!"

Morgana looked forward, and saw that the rest of the Gryffindors were nowhere to be seen.

"We still have five flights of stairs to climb, so I suggest we get a move on," The Head Boy said, gesturing for the group to follow.

Like good children, Sirius and James followed, and like desperate sheep, so did Susie and Geraldine. Judy joined Morgana at the head of the group.

"That Sirius Black is a real dunderhead, isn't he?" She muttered to Morgana. For the first time at Hogwarts, Morgana smiled and was forced to stifle back a laugh. "James Potter isn't any different, really."

"We've only just met," Morgana said. "He thinks we're real chummy because we were both Hatstalls. I swear, if he calls me 'Hatstall' one more time, I might just throw him from the Gryffindor tower."

Morgana and Judy walked the rest of the five flights of stairs together, making jokes and snide remarks about their fellow classmates.

"You know, there's another girl in our year," Judy said, as they climbed through the portrait hole (the password is _lycanthropy_). "Lily Evans. I met her on the train. She's really nice. And, as you may have noticed, not obsessed with Black _or _Potter."

"So perhaps there will be some sanity in the dormitory," Morgana commented.

"This is the common room," The Head Boy announced. "Girls, your dormitories are up those stairs on the left, and each year has its own quarters. Boys, the same, only your dormitories are up _those _stairs on the right."

The Head Girl cleared her throat. "Just so you know, boys, I suggest you _don't _try to enter the girls' dormitories. The stairs are enchanted."

She shot a demeaning look at the Head Boy, who blushed sheepishly. "Yes, right."

A few people sniggered, one of which was clearly Sirius.

"Anyway, it is getting late. You'll all want a good night's sleep for your classes tomorrow!"

The crowd dispersed, allowing Morgana to see the common room in its entirety. The room was very cozy, and full of comfortable looking chairs and sofas. There was a great fireplace with a warm, flickering fire alive inside of it. There were Gryffindor banners on all of the walls, some covering parts of portraits of former Gryffindor students and Heads of House. Morgana was pleased to call this home.

Morgana finally made her way up the stairs, and went to the dormitory labeled "First Year Girls". She opened the door slowly, nervous to be in a room with four other girls she barely knew.

The other girls had already claimed their beds, and were decorating with picture frames, posters, stuffed animals, and new comforters. Morgana found the last bed, wedged between Judy's and a wall. She was fine with this.

Her trunk and was sitting at the foot of the four poster bed. Scarlet hangings were pulled back to reveal a very soft looking double bed with a scarlet and gold duvet and many pillows. She sat down on the bed, and looked about the dormitory. Susie and Geraldine were gabbing away about Sirius and James, while Judy was emptying her trunk and placing clothing and books into the dresser next to her bed. Lily was adorning the nightstand with pictures, all stationary.

_Must be from a Muggle family,_ Morgana thought. _Fascinating! _

Morgana kicked her shoes off, and proceeded to her trunk. Instead of unpacking (she was too tired to do so), she pulled out a pair of pajamas and climbed back into her four-poster bed. She pulled the hangings around her, changed, and fell asleep without wishing the others a good night.

* * *

><p>AN: Yes, you will find potatoes in every single one of my stories. Yes, everyone else is using the idea of Hatstalls these days (thanks Pottermore!), including me. Yes, the Fat Lady is dropping hints about Remus' condition.


	3. Chapter 3

_A Break from Monotony, _or, _How That Idiot Sirius Black Managed to Charm Me_

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: The fabulous Ms. Rowling is the owner of all characters from the Harry Potter series. Credit is given where credit is due.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

**Breakfast at Hogwarts**

Morgana awoke to the sound of Lily's Muggle alarm clock. The other girls woke up too, complained about the noise, but eventually drifted back to sleep. Lily and Morgana, however, proceeded to get ready and go down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"I'm sorry about my alarm clock," Lily said to Morgana as they climbed through the portrait hole. "I didn't want to be late on my first day."

"It's okay," Morgana said honestly. "I'm an early riser, anyway."

"Good," Lily said, and smiled. "I'm Lily, by the way. Lily Evans."

"Morgana Woodsworth," Morgana replied, shaking Lily's outstretched hand.

"Are you friends with Sirius Black and James Potter? I saw you walking with them last night," Lily asked.

"'Friends' isn't the word," Morgana answered. "Sirius thinks that because we were both Hatstalls we have to be best friends. And I've only said two words to James, so I hardly think we're friends,"

"They're toerags. Both of them," Lily said abruptly. "I met them on the train. They're foul."

"What happened?" Morgana asked, her interest peaked.

"They tormented my friend. They had no right to torture him. He didn't do _anything _to them," Lily answered. She looked incredibly angry.

"I'm sorry?"

"I just hope they were having a laugh. What I mean is, I hope they aren't like that all of the time," Lily shook her head. "I can't imagine having to spend the next seven years with those prats."

It was a long, but pleasant walk down to the Great Hall. Lily proved to be wonderful company. When they arrived in the Great Hall, they saw it was nearly empty. Only one other person was sitting at the Gryffindor table, and he was completely immersed in a book.

Although Morgana would have picked a spot farther away from the boy, Lily sat across from him. Morgana sat next to her, not wishing to sit alone during her first breakfast at Hogwarts.

"Good morning, Remus," She said cheerfully. "Please do make sure you don't wear your porridge to class this morning."

He put the book down and smiled at Lily. "I've put an Impervious charm on my pants."

Morgana knew she was missing something, but did not have a chance to ask. The stern looking witch who had conducted the sorting was approaching the Gryffindor table rapidly with a stack of parchment in her arms.

"Good morning, Miss Evans, Miss Woodsworth, Mr. Lupin," She said, rushed. "I have your schedules for the term. Please do not lose them."

She handed them each a schedule and hurried off.

"Ah, damn," Remus muttered. "Potions first thing in the morning. And with Slytherin, no less."

"Not all Slytherins are scum, Remus," Lily said, gingerly placing a sausage on her plate.

"Not in my experience, Lily," He responded politely, and disappeared behind his book once more.

Morgana busied herself by choosing a muffin very specifically. Maxwell had told her a very long time ago that he had once eaten a raisin muffin only to find the raisins were cockroaches. This was probably a lie, but Morgana felt the need to steer clear of anything that might have cockroaches in it.

She selected a banana nut muffin. There is nothing suspicious about a banana nut muffin.

Morgana had just begun to pour herself some pumpkin juice when she noticed a large group of people enter the Great Hall. Not surprisingly, it was Sirius and James, surrounded by a group of girls and one boy.

"Terrific," Morgana mumbled, and hastily tried to make like Remus and disappear behind a book.

Too late.

The group arrived at the table, and Sirius, James, and the third boy sat down next to Lily, Morgana, and Remus. The rest of the group dispersed at the other end of the table.

"Remy, my dear chap," Sirius said. "We wondered where you had gone off to!"

"In the morning, I eat breakfast," He said sarcastically.

Sirius disregarded Remus' sarcasm, and turned to Morgana and Lily. "Who is your friend, Morgana?"

Morgana looked at Lily, who looked like she would have rather been anywhere else. "This is Lily Evans, and, if you don't mind me saying, she doesn't like the pair of you too much."

Remus was forced to stifle a laugh.

"Who is _your _friend, Sirius?" Morgana asked Sirius, who was looking somewhat dumbfounded.

"I'm Peter Pettigrew, but you can just call me Peter," The chubby boy answered. He had a squeaky voice.

"It's very nice to meet you, Peter," Lily said. "How did you come to run in with fools such as these?"

Peter looked rather timid. He did not answer, so James did. "Our other dorm mate, Justin, is a complete twat. We found Petey here trying to transfigure Justin's pillows into piles of dung. We thought he would make a wonderful cohort."

"And you, Remus? You know these...boys?" Lily asked, smiling and raising an eyebrow at Remus' book.

Remus poked his head out from the book, looking rather bored. "I was sitting alone in my compartment, reading a book, when these two found me and insisted I explore the train with them."

"The book he was reading was _Modern Day Pranks for the Practical Prankster_," Sirius said, managing to find his voice again. "He's a keeper."

Professor McGonagall (as Lily pointed out to Morgana – "Oh, that's who that man meant when he said Professor McGonagall!" "That man is Hagrid, Morgana," "Everything makes sense now!") returned to the table to hand out more schedules to the new comers.

"Ugh! Potions with Slytherin! This is the worst day ever!" James pronounced. Lily rolled her eyes, and decided she was finished with breakfast.

"See you in the dungeons, Morgana," Lily said, and swiftly left the Gryffindor table.

"No, don't leave me!" Morgana called after her, but to no avail. Lily was out of both sight and earshot.

"We aren't that bad, are we?" Sirius asked Morgana, piling his plate full of food. "You don't even know us."

Morgana looked at the four boys before her. They were the motliest crew Morgana had ever seen. There was bookish and sarcastic Remus, short and timid Peter, handsome and charming (and stupid) Sirius, and kind but still sort of irritating because of his choice of companions James.

"I suppose you could be worse. You could be a lot of Slytherins," Morgana said. "That doesn't mean I like you, though."

"That's too bad, Morgana," Sirius said, stealing the leftovers of her banana nut muffin from her plate. "_I _like you, and therefore, I'm going to stick around."

Morgana stole back the crumbling remains of her muffin. "I have two older brothers. I can be just as stubborn and hardheaded as you."

"I come from a whole family of Slytherins. I think I've got you beat," Sirius grabbed the muffin back, and popped it in his mouth. "It's going to be hard to get rid of me."

"Sirius, if you want to win her friendship," Remus started, "Perhaps you shouldn't steal her muffins."

"Or maybe you should try being less aggressive," Peter added.

"Or maybe you should let me eat my breakfast in peace so I don't jinx you," Morgana suggested. With this being said, she slammed her book bag down on the table, collected her things, and huffed off toward the dungeons.

"Thanks for the help, guys! You stupid prats!" Sirius said loudly.

"You were doing just fine on your own," James said.

Sirius glared at James.

"Oh! You were trying to be friends with her? My mistake. I thought you were trying to alienate her!" James said with mock sincerity. "Sorry, mate."


	4. Chapter 4

_A Break from Monotony, _or, _How That Idiot Sirius Black Managed to Charm Me_

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: The fabulous Ms. Rowling is the owner of all characters from the Harry Potter series. Credit is given where credit is due.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

**Potions Class**

Morgana managed to get lost on her way to the dungeons. She wished she had left the Great Hall with Lily now, but, alas, wishing would not do her much good now.

_Someone needs to make a map of this place, _She thought to herself as she poked her out of a corridor. Luckily, at this precise moment, a group of Slytherins traveling down a hallway; each was carrying his or her brand new Potions book. Morgana sighed a silent sigh of relief and followed them, but from a safe distance.

She was soon met by a door, which led to a cavernous room. She waited outside – the only people in there were Slytherins and Lily, who was sitting with a Slytherin. She waited until someone else she knew came along.

Within a few minutes, Judy came into view. _Thank Merlin it isn't that Sirius Black, _Morgana thought to herself, and attempted to put on what she thought was a kind smile.

"Sorry I missed you at breakfast, Morgana," Judy said, as they walked into the classroom together. "It's just that you were sitting with Black and Potter and I didn't want to deal with them so early in the morning."

"Very understandable," Morgana said off-handedly. "Shall we sit here?"

Morgana was referring to a table with four seats, and a large cauldron sitting over a fire in the middle. It was near the front, but not in the middle. Lily and the Slytherin she was with had already claimed that table.

Judy and Morgana put their bags down and stared cautiously into the cauldron. The mixture inside of it was glassy black, much like the Black Lake they had sailed across the previous night, and smelled putrid.

Morgana's curiosity begged her to drop something into the cauldron, but her common sense reminded her that, sometimes, curiosity can kill the niffler.

Much like in the Great Hall that morning, a gaggle of girls headed by Sirius Black and James Potter entered the classroom. Behind them followed Remus and Peter, both looking rather annoyed by the presence of so many giggling females.

Sirius and James picked a table near the back, accompanied by Geraldine and Susie. Before Morgana and Judy knew it, Peter and Remus were rushing to their table.

"May we sit here?" Remus asked. "James wasn't lying when he said Justin was a prat."

Judy and Morgana nodded at the two, and they put down their bags.

"What's in that cauldron?" Peter asked, peering into the depths of the black liquid. He looked quite frightened.

"Dunno," Judy said. "Probably something that will burn your eyebrows off if you lean in too closely."

Peter instantly pulled his head back from the cauldron.

For the next few minutes, chatter rose like the smoke from the cauldrons in the room. Many people were curious to find out what was in their cauldrons, and others were merely content to look around the room at the other first years. Morgana noticed that one half of the room was mainly Gryffindors, and the other Slytherins, with the exception of Lily, her greasy Slytherin friend, and Justin, who had just joined them.

The chatter died down, however, when a fat, strawberry-blond haired man walked in with a large smile on his face. He had a large mustache and an even larger bald spot, as Morgana noticed, as he turned to write his name on the board.

"Good morning, first years! I am Professor Horace Slughorn – some of you know me as your Head of House-" He winked in the direction of the Slytherins, "and I will be your Potions teacher for the next five or seven years, depending on your career choices, so I do hope we can get on well!"

He chuckled to himself.

"There will be time for getting to know one another later, however. As you may have noticed, each table has a cauldron on it, and, as far as I can see, none of you decided to drop anything in them. No matter, perhaps we'll have better luck with the Hufflepuffs," Slughorn chuckled again. "All of these potions are different, and vary in difficulty level. But – not to worry – you will be able to brew every single one of these potions by the time you finish your fifth year!"

There was a murmur of excited whispers. This seemed to be the effect Professor Slughorn was going for, because he was smiling madly at the front of the room.

"Now, can any of you dare to guess what potion is in their cauldron?"

Immediately, the Slytherin boy who was sitting with Lily and Justin thrust his hand into the air. Slughorn smiled. "Ah, yes, boy, and you are…?"

"Snape. Severus Snape," The boy answered. "This is a potion to induce dreamless sleep. I can tell by the purple hue and the dizzying effect."

"Very good, very good indeed. Have five points!" Slughorn was _delighted. _"Anyone else brave enough to-"

Sirius Black raised his hand lazily in the air. "We have a Swelling Solution over here."

Slughorn smiled. "Ah, yes, Sirius Black! I'm sad to say you aren't in my house, tut, tut." – Sirius did not look sad at all – "And how do you know this potion is a Swelling Solution, dear boy?"

"Just based off the number of times my brother's used it on the cat," Sirius answered, shrugging.

"The boy's got nerve! Just like the other Black's! Five points for Gryffindor!"

Sirius and James winked at each other, and Geraldine and Susie were sent over the moon.

Morgana rolled her eyes, and noticed that Severus Snape had whipped around to glare at Sirius and James.

Severus suddenly stood, and walked over to Morgana's table. "Sir, they've got Doxycide."

He went to another table. "This is Draught of Living Death,"

And then he went to the last table, "And this potion will cure boils."

"But will it cure greasy hair?" Morgana heard Sirius mutter. Luckily for him, Slughorn did not hear over his sheer amazement at this gutsy first year.

"Merlin's beard, boy, you know your potions!" Slughorn said to Severus. "How did you become so intelligible?"

"My mum is a master Potioneer, sir," Snape said humbly. "Eileen Prince is her name."

"I never did teach Eileen, but I do know her teachers thought very highly of her. I see you've inherited her talent!" Slughorn beamed at Severus, who maintained humble posture. "Take twenty points for Slytherin!"

"Stupid git," Sirius mumbled, "Anyone with a nose like his could sniff out each individual ingredient in those potions."

"As Mr. Snape correctly identified, this last potion," Slughorn traveled to the table with the cure for boils, "is a potion to cure boils and your first assignment. If you would please take out your books and refer to page twelve, you will find directions to brew this potion. You will find that you will have all necessary ingredients in your potions kits."

There was a great amount of hurried rustling among the room, and Slughorn waited for the noise to die down before he continued. "You will work with the people at your table, and you have until the end of the class to complete the potion and bring a flask to my desk."

Morgana, Judy, Remus, and Peter all stared at one another. "Did any of you know we would have to make a potion on the first day?" Peter asked.

"No," Judy answered, "But it's not unexpected."

Just then, Slughorn walked up to the table. "Do you four have everything you need? Good," He did not give them a chance to answer. "Let me vanish this potion for you – Merlin, that's a strong smell."

He waved his wand and the black mixture disappeared from the cauldron. Morgana noticed he was going around the every table and doing the same thing.

"I guess we should get started then," Morgana said, and opened her potion book. She read the instructions once over. "This shouldn't be too difficult."

Morgana and Judy took roles as leaders immediately. They set the boys to chop and separate ingredients while Judy monitored the flames and Morgana stirred and added the ingredients.

They would have made a good team, but Remus was a menace at potions, as the group soon found out. He mangled every herb he touched with a knife, rendering them useless for the potion.

"Peter, can you sort him out?" Judy asked rudely, her face sweating. The flames had to be at a precise temperature and she was working very hard to maintain them.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Remus apologized. "I'm rubbish at potions."

"We can see that," Judy said to him. "Just…let Peter do it. Don't touch anything."

Morgana felt Judy was being a little harsh on Remus – it was his first time – but she did not say anything. She silently agreed with Judy, seeing as she wanted to get good marks on her first assignment for potions class.

Peter proved to be much better at chopping ingredients, even though he had shaky hands. This seemed to ease Judy's nerves, which everyone in the group was grateful for.

They were letting the cauldron simmer now, and Morgana took this chance to look about the room to see how the other groups were doing. _At least we're not doing as badly as they are, _Morgana thought when her eyes trailed over to a group of Slytherins who were still struggling to light a fire underneath the cauldron.

Lily, Snape, Justin, and another Slytherin were doing very well – they were a few steps ahead of Morgana and her group. Sirius, James, Susie, and Geraldine seemed to doing quite well too, except they seemed to have forgotten to take the cauldron off the heat before adding the porcupine quills. This resulted in the melting of the cauldron, and Sirius appeared to have a massive hole in the stomach of his robes and a few swelling boils. Geraldine was apologizing profusely to Sirius between tears and noisy sobs.

Morgana had to stifle her laughter.

"Ah, Mr. Black, I see we've had a bit of an accident," Slughorn said when he approached their table. "We'll get you sorted out at the end of the class, if the pustules aren't too painful. Miss Evans' group seems to be on the right track to brewing a perfect boil-cure."

Sirius grimaced and forced himself not to scratch the boils on his stomach. "I think I'll be fine for now, sir."

"Good boy," Slughorn said. "Carry on."

As Morgana watched in amusement, one of the boils popped, and the pus flew onto James' face. Morgana could not help herself – she burst into raucous laughter, earning her dirty looks from her classmates.

"Miss Woodsworth, please do calm yourself!" Slughorn chastised, though he did not seem to know why she was laughing.

"I'm sorry, sir," She said through bated breath.

"Ugh, gross, Sirius!" James shouted, grabbing a fistful of Sirius' robes to wipe the pus from his face.

"Use your own bloody robes!" Sirius yelled, pulling back the robes from James.

"Yours are already ruined!" James retorted. "And I don't want your belly bile on mine!"

"Gentlemen!" Slughorn roared. "There is no need for arguing over spilled potion – or pus, in this case."

Slughorn waved his wand and the pus vanished from James' face. He then proceeded to mend the hole in Sirius' robes – it looked as if an invisible needle and thread were stitching the hole shut.

"Five points from Gryffindor for disturbing the class, tut tut," Slughorn said. "Please, everyone, return to your potions."

Slughorn was right – the entire class had stopped brewing to watch the commotion between James and Sirius.

Judy seemed to be the sole exception to this fact. She had continued to watch over the potion, and it was now a bright green as it was supposed to be. "Gits," She muttered underneath her breath as she carefully spooned a bit of potion into a crystal phial.

Without a word to Morgana, Remus, or Peter, she took the phial to Slughorn's desk for evaluation. Morgana noticed as Judy walked up to the desk that Severus was giving her a glare so etched with hate, she was surprised Judy had not burst into flames.

"Oh-ho!" Slughorn said jovially and loudly enough for the entire class to hear. "It seems we have a winner!"

Slughorn dropped his voice, but not low enough to prevent Morgana from hearing. "What is your name, dear?"

"Judith Wynn," Judy responded.

Slughorn cleared his throat and raised his voice once more. "It seems Miss Wynn's group has successfully finished brewing the boil-cure first! Ten points for Gryffindor!"

Severus audibly groaned, and Lily elbowed him in the ribs.

Slughorn followed Judy back to the table to examine the potion further. "Yes, it does seem this is a viable potion; very well done, you four. Mr. Black, could you come here, please?"

The boils must have made it difficult to walk, because Sirius grimaced the entire way toward Morgana's table. "Yes, sir?"

Slughorn conjured a goblet and filled it with the boil-cure potion. "Drink up, my boy."

Nervously, Sirius took the goblet and drank the contents in one go. After he swallowed, he fake-gagged and returned the goblet to Slughorn.

"Better?" Slughorn asked.

Sirius touched his stomach gingerly, but apparently did not feel the boils. "They're gone!" He exclaimed wildly.

"All thanks to Miss Wynn's group, here," Slughorn said proudly. "Next time, Mr. Black, do try to keep it in your cauldron." Slughorn winked and walked away.


	5. Chapter 5

_A Break from Monotony, _or, _How That Idiot Sirius Black Managed to Charm Me_

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: The fabulous Ms. Rowling is the owner of all characters from the Harry Potter series. Credit is given where credit is due.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

**Defense Against the Dark Arts**

"Judy's not very friendly, is she?" Remus asked Morgana as they walked to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom after lunch. Judy had left the Gryffindor table early, and Peter decided to walk to class with boil-free Sirius, my-robes-are-amazing James, Geraldine and Susie.

"No, not really," Morgana said honestly, shrugging. "But she doesn't fawn over Sirius and James, which I find pleasant."

Remus did not answer.

"So, this morning...about the...?"

"The Impervious Charm?" Remus asked. Morgana nodded. "Pumpkin juice."

"I take it you don't talk much," Morgana commented, after a few moments.

"I don't," Remus said, and shrugged. "I've always been sort of quiet."

"Oh," Morgana said, but Remus' sad face (or perhaps he just looked that way?) did not stop her from prodding. "What happened with the pumpkin juice?"

"It spilled," Remus said, slightly surprised that Morgana was taking such an interest into this seemingly trivial story.

"And how did Lily find out? What caused the pumpkin juice to spill? When did this happen? Where did this happen?" Morgana listed off. "You have to give me details, Remus."

"Why are you so interested?"

"You're being too secretive about it. That must mean it was something terrible and embarrassing and I want to know," Morgana answered.

"I'm not being secretive!" Remus exclaimed, raising his voice slightly. "It's just not important, that's all."

Morgana cocked an eyebrow at him. "If it's not a secret and it's not very important, why don't you tell me?"

Remus flared his nostrils. "You are very stubborn."

The corner of Morgana's lip twitched. She was trying very hard not to smile. "So I've been told." She responded, trying to keep all amusement from her voice. "You're quite stubborn too."

Morgana knew she had hit a nerve. Remus began talking, his voice tense.

"I was reading a book and balancing a goblet of pumpkin juice between my knees _alone _in my compartment on the train ride here when James and Sirius fell into my compartment. The pumpkin juice went all over the place and on my jeans because I hadn't changed into my robes yet-"

"Jeans?"

Remus stopped walking and stared at Morgana, who had not stopped walking. When she realized Remus was no longer beside her, she stopped and turned around. "What?"

"You don't know what jeans are?" Remus asked in disbelief, all anger toward her gone.

"No, I don't," Morgana answered in the same slow voice Remus had asked his question in. "What are jeans?"

"Pants. Jeans are pants."

"Why couldn't you say pants like a normal person?" Morgana asked as Remus regained his place next to her. They continued to walk down the corridor.

"Never mind the pants. Anyway, the pumpkin juice got all over the place, including my _pants,_"

"And…?" Morgana asked, clearly not understanding what Remus was alluding to.

"It looked like I had urinated in my pants," Remus said flatly. His cheeks flushed.

Morgana formed an '_o_' with her mouth, and forced herself not to giggle. "I knew it was something terrible and embarrassing!"

"You have no tact, do you?" Remus asked.

"My dad says I'm incorrigible," Morgana said, thinking this was a sufficient answer. When she did not elaborate, Remus went on, surprised that he was telling Morgana, almost a perfect stranger, this tale of embarrassment and utter shame.

"And then Lily came in to make sure everything was okay. She was sitting in the compartment across the way and saw that James and Sirius practically broke the compartment door." He paused. "She thought I had peed in my pants and, uh, left without saying anything."

Morgana could not help herself; she began to laugh. Remus shot her a menacing glare.

"It's just that it's very comical from an outside point of view," Morgana apologized.

"Actually, it was very traumatizing," Remus replied shortly. "And, I changed into my robes that very second, if you must know."

"I bet you did," Morgana smiled at Remus.

After a pause, Remus said, "I guess it is pretty funny. You know, if you're not the one with pumpkin juice on your jeans."

There was a lull in the conversation. Remus took to looking at the portraits he passed.

"How did you manage a compartment alone?" Morgana asked, keen to continue conversation with Remus. "I would have killed to be in my own compartment."

Remus raised one of his eyebrows at her. "I got on the train early and locked the door."

"And what if people came by?"

"I told them I had dragon pox," He said simply. "Though, I suppose, this is probably the reason Sirius and James forced entry into the compartment…"

"You don't look like you have dragon pox,"

"I know," Remus said, and smiled. "People tend to not ask questions when you say you have a contagious disease."

"I'll have to remember that," Morgana nodded her head appreciatively a few times. "That's very smart."

Remus' cheeks burned red at this comment, but he managed to hide his face from Morgana's view by taking great interest in a painting to his right.

Very soon after, they had arrived at the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. There was a queue formed outside of the door, a mix of both Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. Judging from the excited murmur, the first years seemed anxious to enter the classroom and experience there first ever Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.

A very tall and very thin man suddenly opened the door into the classroom. Morgana had seen pictures of vampires before, and if she didn't trust Dumbledore's judgment, she would have assumed this man was a vampire. His skin was translucent and his cheeks were hollowed out. His eyes, which were grey and piercing, were sunken into his skull; his brow bone cast heavy shadows on the rest of his face.

Nervously, the first years shuffled in, careful not to get to close to the professor. They all seemed to have come to the same conclusion as Morgana.

The classroom was vast and devoid of desks._ What kind of classroom doesn't have desks? _Morgana wondered as she stared about the room. She noticed that she was not the only one with doubts – many students had grouped off far from the professor's desk and were conversing in soft whispers.

When the last student entered the classroom, the professor shut the door and cleared his throat. "Good afternoon, class. My name is Professor Barnes and I will be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for the year."

The class responded with nothing more than silence. Professor Barnes had a very quiet voice that forced people to listen with the utmost attention. It seemed the whole class had leaned forward.

"And, contrary to my appearance, I am not a vampire, but thank you for thinking so deeply about my parentage," Barnes offered a weak smile, which was not returned by the class.

A Ravenclaw boy timidly raised his hand. "Yes, Mister, uh?"

"Thompson, sir. You said you'd only be our teacher for a year?"

"Correct, Mister Thompson," Barnes said, moving in front of his desk. "My health no longer permits me to live in such a climate. I'll be moving to South America in the summer and will perhaps teach at one of the schools there."

Morgana instantly pictured Professor Barnes in a Hawaiian print shirt, holding a coconut in one hand and a palm fan in the other. She suppressed a giggle.

"If there are no further questions, I would like to begin our lesson," Barnes said. He scanned the room and saw no other hands raised. "In that case, I would like to begin the term with a practical lesson to get you all excited for Defense Against the Dark Arts."

The mood of the room rapidly changed. Everyone perked up and began to whisper to their surrounding friends.

"In a moment, I'm going to ask you to find a partner – but not now, if you please, Mr. Black!"

Sirius had already grabbed James by the wrist and dragged him halfway across the room. The two froze in their places and smiled sheepishly at Professor Barnes.

"But before we all group off and start jinxing one another, can anyone give me the spell that disarms an opponent?"

Seven or so hands shot in the air, but Barnes saw Lily's first. "Yes, Miss?"

"Lily Evans, Professor," She said. "The spell is _Expelliarmus_."

"Correct, five points for Gryffindor," Professor Barnes exclaimed. "Miss Evans is correct – the spell to disarm is _Expelliarmus. _Now, say it with me-"

"_Expelliarmus_!" The class recited with Professor Barnes.

"Very good, very good." He said. "Who can explain to me the wandwork associated with this spell?"

No hands went up into the air. "Ah, yes, a more difficult question. I didn't expect anyone to know." He chuckled. "When using _Expelliarmus_, you want to point your wand _directly _at your opponent's wand. That makes sense, considering you are attempting to disarm your opponent, not injure them."

A few people looked uneasy. They now realized that they were expected to do adequate magic in front of their classmates. Morgana was one of the few whose confidence did not waver.

"So now, if you please, get into pairs and separate yourselves about the room. Make sure you aren't too close to another group!"

Professor Barnes had to shout the last instruction because the noise level had risen tremendously.

Sirius and James were partners, and next to them, unsurprisingly, were Geraldine and Susie. Peter and Judy were teamed up near them (Judy looking a bit sour about it) and next to them were Lily and Justin. Remus and Morgana exchanged looks, and nodded.

They paired up, but remained on the side of the room they were on, far away from Sirius and James.

The classroom was very noisy now. Morgana could barely hear what Remus was trying to tell her, and therefore, did not know what he was talking about. As she moved closer to him to hear what he was saying, a loud _bang _sounded from the front of the room. The chatter died immediately.

"Thank you," Professor Barnes said very pleasantly. "Taking turns, I would like you to attempt to disarm your opponent. And please, try to refrain from using any other spells." He looked reprovingly at Sirius and James. "When you hear another loud _bang, _that means to stop what you are doing and return your attention to me. Carry on."

Remus and Morgana looked at one another. "You first," They said simultaneously. "No, you."

"Ladies first," Remus insisted, and smiled. He stood with his wand ready and his eyes closed.

"_Expelliarmus_!" Morgana shouted. She was not sure if Remus had dropped his wand in fear or if the spell had actually worked, but respecting the instructions, she allowed Remus to have his turn.

Remus pointed his wand at Morgana's and shouted, "_Expelliarmus_!" Morgana's wand flew gracefully in an arc through the air and landed in Remus' free hand.

Morgana (and, admittedly, a few others) stared in awe at Remus, who blushed and returned Morgana's wand to her.

"Ah, Mr. Lupin's done it!" Professor Barnes exclaimed. "Five points for Gryffindor!"

By the time class was finished, everyone had disarmed _someone _at least once (Geraldine had terrible aim).

Morgana and Remus were fetching their bags when Sirius and James swooped down upon Remus. "Wondrous wandwork, dear friend," Sirius complimented.

Morgana rolled her eyes. "I'll see you in Herbology, Remus."

With that, she hurried to meet with Judy and walk down to the greenhouses with her.


	6. Chapter 6

_A Break from Monotony, _or, _How That Idiot Sirius Black Managed to Charm Me_

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: The fabulous Ms. Rowling is the owner of all characters from the Harry Potter series. Credit is given where credit is due.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

**Dinner and a Show**

Herbology was taught by a short woman named Professor Sprout who was perpetually covered in dirt. To their dismay, the first years soon found out they would not receive much hands-on practice with plants, and would spend most of the year being lectured instead. Much like in Slughorn's class, there were a multitude of plants about the greenhouse, and Professor Sprout asked the class if they could identify them.

Lily and Justin took it upon themselves to answer all of Professor Sprout's questions. With every right answer, they earned Gryffindor five points. It was soon obvious that Lily Evans was the smartest girl in the year. And that Justin was, as James said, a twat.

"Can anyone tell me what this last plant is?" Professor Sprout asked, referring to a plant with many tentacles that seemed to be cringing, in a way.

Lily's hand shot up, and before being called on, said, "That's Devil's Snare!"

"Correct, my dear, very correct! Take another five points, eh?"

Professor Sprout spent the rest of the class introducing the exciting subject of Herbology. Morgana, who was less than enthusiastic about magical plants, did not pay much attention. She busied herself by looking about the greenhouse at her fellow Gryffindors.

Lily, Judy, Remus, Peter and Justin were listening raptly to Professor Sprout, giving her their fullest attention. Sirius and James were sword fighting with their wands, the occasional green and red sparks shooting out from the tips of their wands. Geraldine and Susie were watching Sirius and James intently, sighing dreamily every time one of them brushed the hair out of their eyes.

Morgana shook her head, but could not keep herself from smiling. Watching Sirius and James _was _rather amusing.

Remus glanced over his shoulder and saw Morgana smiling at Sirius and James. Remus smirked at Morgana, who rolled her eyes and mouthed 'What?' to him. Remus smiled and shrugged his shoulders before returning his attention to Professor Sprout.

Either Professor Sprout did not notice or did not care, but Sirius and James were never reprimanded for their sword fight during Herbology.

"You know," Remus said as he and Morgana walked back into the castle after the bell rung. "If I was doing that in class, I would have been caught and severely punished."

"You're not dumb enough to have a sword fight with your wand in a highly flammable area," Morgana responded. "You have a little more common sense than that."

"How would you know what I'm like?" Remus asked, somewhat jokingly. "You've only just met me."

Morgana looked at Remus, cocked her head to one side, and gave him a disbelieving look. "I can tell when someone isn't an idiot, Remus."

X

All in all, Morgana's first day at Hogwarts was far more enjoyable than she could have ever imagined.

The Gryffindor first years had a small break between Herbology and dinner. Presumably, this was to get any homework done, but seeing as they did not have any, the Common Room was packed with chatty eleven year olds. The occasional sixth year would climb through the portrait hole, but would automatically leave once they caught wind of the loud group of first years.

Morgana, Judy, and Lily were sitting by the fire, quietly discussing their feelings about their first day. Lily, like Morgana, seemed quite enthused about the day's classes, and was very excited for the coming week. Judy, on the other hand, was rather bored with the classes and found something to complain about in every class.

"I can't believe Slughorn made us brew boil-cures. I could brew a boil-cure with my eyes closed!" Judy complained loudly.

"You complain a lot, don't you?" Morgana asked.

That seemed to shut Judy up.

A silence fell between the three girls. Morgana stared about the common room, soaking in everything, even the smallest details in the most miniscule painting. She could not wait to tell her father she was Sorted into Gryffindor; he would be so proud of her.

Though, admittedly, she did not know how her mother would react.

Her mother would probably think her even more useless now that her daughter couldn't even be in Ravenclaw like her perfect older brothers.

A few minutes later, someone tapped Morgana lightly on the shoulder. Morgana looked up to seeing Lily smiling down at her. "We're going down to dinner," She said kindly. "Care to join us?"

Morgana nodded her head and stood. She attempted to rid her head of thoughts of her mother's haughty face, and followed Judy and Lily out of the portrait hole and down to the Great Hall.

Judy had clearly not forgotten Morgana's comment and remained quite stiff throughout dinner. So stiff, in fact, that she did not even move when Sirius, James, Peter, and Remus decided to join them.

As the four boys sat down across from Lily, Judy, and Morgana, Remus smiled apologetically at Morgana, as if he was saying, "Sorry, but he insisted". Morgana smiled and shrugged back.

"So, how was the first day, ladies?" Sirius asked coolly as he loaded his plate with potatoes and pieces of chicken.

He was pouring gravy on his mashed potatoes when a fourth year knocked into him on accident. Sirius slopped gravy down the front of his robes. "Damn!" He shouted, jumping back from the bench and standing. "Napkin! Someone give me a bloody napkin!"

Peter was quick to hand Sirius his napkin, while James, Remus, Morgana, and Lily laughed uncontrollably. Judy did not seem to be amused. That, or she was determined not to show any form of emotion for the rest of the night.

Sirius was plainly making the mess bigger by blotting at the gravy. His face was growing red as a tomato as he murmured obscenities and broken phrases. "Sirius!" Remus called loudly, for Sirius was making a fair bit of noise. "Sirius, hold still. I can clean this up."

James and Remus grabbed Sirius' arms in order to make him stand still. Remus pulled out his wand, pointed it at the mess of gravy, cleared his throat, and said, "_Tergeo_!"

Sirius pulled his robes away from his body to see the spot that was previously covered in gravy. It was as if the gravy had never spilled in the first place. Sirius returned to his suave and calm state. "Thanks, Remy,"

"You're welcome," Remus said, stowing his wand back in his robes.

"So, as I was asking, how did-"

Before Sirius could finish, Professor McGonagall rushed down the aisle toward them. "Mr. Lupin!" She called harshly. "Tell me I did not just witness you doing magic outside of the classroom."

Remus blushed bright pink. "Uh…you did not just see me doing magic outside of the classroom?" He tried. The second the words came out of his mouth, he knew he had just landed himself in greater trouble.

"Mr. Lupin, we do not permit students to do magic outside of the classroom at Hogwarts. Surely you knew that," McGonagall said, disappointment ringing in her voice. "Five points from Gryffindor."

Remus hung his head in shame. Sirius and James looked absolutely appalled and opened their mouths to object. McGonagall cut them off before they could retort.

"However, I will award you ten points for effectively using the _Tergeo _charm, which is third year magic. Carry on," She smiled at Remus, whose face had lit up, and walked back to the teachers' table at front of the Hall.

"Cool, mate!" James said, clapping Remus on the back.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" Peter asked, in complete awe.

"My parents taught me a bit of magic before I came here," He said. "They thought I would have to be homeschooled because of my-"

Remus abruptly stopped talking and instead decided to focus on his dinner. Lily and Morgana exchanged significant looks with James, Sirius, and Peter, but shrugged it off and also decided to focus on their dinners.

Morgana was really curious as to what Remus would have said if he had not stopped talking but did not pry because, as Remus so rightly stated after Herbology, they had only just met. She did not feel it was her place to force him to finish his statement.

The rest of dinner went smoothly, seeing as Sirius managed to keep all of his food either on his plate or in his mouth, and not on his robes and no one else did magic that was against the rules.

Morgana was pleasantly full when Lily and Judy decided it was time to go back to Gryffindor tower. The three were passing the Slytherin table when Lily suddenly stopped. "Hey, um, I'll catch up with you guys," She said before turning around and taking a seat next to Severus at the Slytherin table, who was sitting alone.

Morgana and Judy headed off, and, to their relief, were not joined by Sirius and James.

* * *

><p><strong>Note from the Author: <strong>Hey, hi. So I totally know that this is going pretty slowly, and I apologize for that. I have a ton of ideas for this story, so please bare with me through the slow chapters! I promise it will be worth it. :)


	7. Chapter 7

_A Break from Monotony, _or, _How That Idiot Sirius Black Managed to Charm Me_

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: The fabulous Ms. Rowling is the owner of all characters from the Harry Potter series. Credit is given where credit is due.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

**Birthday Gifts**

September ended as soon as it came, and before Morgana knew it, it was the middle of October. The school grounds had become soggy with rain and unrelenting wind, making outdoor excursions nearly impossible. The weather was so terrible, in fact, Professor Kettleburn, who taught Care of Magical Creatures to third years and up, cancelled most classes until the weather turned around.

Herbology was also quite unpleasant most days, but because the classes were taught under the safety of the greenhouses, Professor Sprout did not cancel classes, much to the dismay of the first years, who were not quite accustomed to walking through mud and rain to get to class.

Quidditch had started up at the beginning of October, and as Morgana looked out of the window next to her four poster bed, she was grateful she was not on the team. The first match was to be due in a few days, and Morgana doubted the dreadful weather would clear up by then.

Morgana, who had now been awake for ten minutes, decided to get ready for class rather than lay around all morning, watching the rain streak the windows of the tower dormitory. The other girls were still sleeping, though Morgana knew that Lily's Muggle alarm clock was set to go off at any time now. Morgana lit the candle on her bedside table and referred to the calendar pinned up next to the window. Holding the candle out, she checked the date. Seeing as the14th had been crossed out the previous night, Morgana registered that it was October 15th.

Morgana smiled to herself. It was her birthday.

She was twelve years old now, practically a lady. And this lady wanted to shower before the bathroom got too crowded.

Morgana tried to remained as silent as possible as she got out of bed and walked around the four-poster. Alas, she tripped over _something_, causing a large amount of noise and the candle to fall out of her hand and roll underneath Judy's bed.

"Shit!" Morgana hissed, scrambling around in the dark. Lily, Susie, and Judy each lit the candles on their bedside tables, illuminating the room. Morgana barely had time to register that she had stumbled over a pile of presents in front of her bed before she was forced to dive underneath Judy's bed to stamp out the lit candle that was threatening to light the bed skirt on fire.

She crawled out from underneath the bed and sighed. At that precise moment, Lily's alarm clock went off. All five girls groaned; Judy pressed her face into her mattress and flopped her pillow over her head to block out the ringing.

"What's going on?" Geraldine asked sleepily.

"Morgana's just tripped over her birthday presents, that's all," Lily answered, turning off the alarm clock. "Happy birthday, Morgana!"

"Thanks, Lily," Morgana said, feeling slightly guilty that she had caused such a commotion so early in the morning.

Morgana proceeded to the bathroom, but stopped at the sound of her name being called. "Aren't you going to open your presents?" Susie asked.

"After I get out of the shower, I suppose," Morgana answered, shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh," Susie said, looking somewhat crestfallen.

"Why?" Morgana asked, confused at Susie's less than happy demeanor.

"I just like watching people open their presents, that's all," Susie said, smiling slightly at Morgana.

Morgana returned the smile, though she had to force it. Before she could be stopped again, Morgana hurried to the bathroom to start a shower.

X

Morgana, now dressed in her school robes and allowing her hair to air dry, piled her presents on her bed and set to opening them.

Susie and Geraldine were in the bathroom, magically trying to curl their hair. They did this every morning, and Morgana had to admit that they were getting quite good. Their make-up, however, seemed to be suffering increasingly every day.

Judy had already gone off the breakfast, seemingly still angry with Morgana about the comment she made about her non-stop complaining.

Lily and Morgana sat alone in the dormitory, chatting quietly as Morgana opened her presents.

Morgana came across a package wrapped in red paper and tied with a gold bow. "This one must be from dad," Morgana said aloud, though more to herself than to Lily.

She carefully removed the paper to reveal a golden box. When Morgana opened the box, she found a small, but very intricately designed silver locket. It was oval shaped and had a single red ruby in the center, surrounded by tiny etchings. "Wow," She murmured, picking up the locket gingerly and opening it.

From the locket fell a piece of parchment. When Morgana went to retrieve it from the folds of her sheets, it rose gracefully from her palm and unfolded itself in midair. Both Lily and Morgana stared at it, very intrigued.

Morgana recognized her father's handwriting on the parchment, and plucked it from the air to read it.

_Dearest Morgana,_

_Happy birthday, my love! I cannot believe you are twelve already. It seems like only yesterday you were born and I held you in my arms, though I hardly doubt that interests you._

_This locket will only open to your touch – and therefore, it can hide your secrets on pieces of parchment like this (of course, I had to Confund the locket first to open it and put this and the pictures in it). It can store a multitude of capacities, meaning a multitude of treasures._

_You are very special to me, Morgana. I love you more than anything in the entire world. _

_Again, happy birthday!_

_Love,_

_Dad_

Morgana set the letter aside, making sure to place it upside down so Lily would not be tempted to read in from Judy's bed. Morgana went back to the locket, which was open in the golden box. On the left was a family portrait. The five people in the picture were smiling jovially up at Morgana, but she knew they were fake smiles. The other picture, however, was of Morgana and her father. This picture was taken when the pair went hiking three years ago. These smiles were genuine, and she was soon swept away in a whirlwind of memories.

Morgana closed the locket and strung it around her neck. She placed it gently underneath her robes, keeping it a secret from the rest of the world.

The second present she grabbed was wrapped unceremoniously in brown paper and tied with a brown string. Written hastily on the paper was "Happy birthday, Morgana. Love, Mum". Morgana rolled her eyes and tore off the paper, not caring to preserve it.

Her mum had given her a black, leather-bound homework planner.

Morgana blinked a few times while flicking through the pages. _I suppose this will be useful_, Morgana thought while frowning slightly at the thoughtlessness of the gift.

She threw the book aside and reached for a third gift. This box was flat and somewhat long, and wrapped in gold paper. A small card inside that read "Happy birthday, little sister! Love, Max." indicated that this gift was from Maxwell, who always seemed like Morgana a little more than Malcolm.

Under the card was a very handsome peacock feather quill. Morgana picked it up and eyed it.

"That's really pretty!" Lily said.

Morgana jumped slightly, having forgotten that Lily was still in the dormitory with her.

"It's a lot better than the ragged old quill I've been using," Morgana said, placing the quill on the bedside table. She mentally reminded herself to put it in her bag before she went down for breakfast.

She reached for a third gift, which was a rather heavy velvet pouch. There was a small tag attached to the drawstrings of the bag, which read, "Happy birthday, Morgana, Love your older brother, Malcolm." Morgana rolled her eyes at the haughtiness of her brother's signature, but opened the bag nonetheless. She pulled out a few ruby colored marbles.

"Gobstones," Morgana said flatly, letting the marbles fall back into the bag. "He _knows _I don't like Gobstones. Idiot…"

Lily chuckled, which made Morgana smile.

There was a final present on her bed. It was a very large box that was wrapped in gold and red paper. Morgana had saved this one for last on purpose, assuming its size had to mean it was the best of the presents.

She tore off the wrapping paper and opened the box. From the box, she pulled a large, ornate, brass...

"An owl cage?" Morgana asked, thoroughly confused. "What do I need an owl cage for?" Morgana sighed impatiently and got up from her bed. "I don't even have an owl, Lily!"

Lily and Morgana grabbed their school bags and headed down to breakfast, leaving Susie and Geraldine to apply their blue eye shadow in peace.

Morgana was putting a fat sausage on her plate when the mail came in. Morgana did not even bother looking up; she had never received mail in the two and a half months she had been at Hogwarts. Morgana proceeded to reach for a piece of toast when a large Tawny owl landed on her arm, a letter in his beak.

Morgana stared into the owl's amber eyes. "I think you've got the wrong arm, buddy," Morgana said, attempting to get the owl off of her arm.

The owl did not move.

Morgana sighed and took the letter from its beak. The owl hopped off her arm and nibbled on the piece of toast Morgana had picked for herself.

Morgana slid the envelope open and saw her father's handwriting once more.

_Surprise!_

_Your mum and I thought it prudent to get you an owl, now that you're away at school. We thought this one was rather handsome._

_Now, you have no excuse to not write us!_

_Love,_

_Mum & Dad_

Morgana set the letter down and returned her gaze to the owl. It hooted at her and bounced happily to her hand, nibbling her finger affectionately. She raised her other hand and pet the owl between its eyes.

The owl closed its eyes and hooted once more.

"So you're really mine, aren't you?" She asked the owl, who blinked at her in reply. "I guess you need a name, then."

Morgana sat and considered the owl before her. Although handsome, he did look somewhat like an angry, old man. She tapped her chin contemplatively.

She did not notice that Remus, Sirius, James, and Peter had sat across from her and started eating breakfast loudly and messily.

"Nice owl," James commented, his mouth full of toast. "What's its name?"

"Eustace," Morgana answered. "His name is Eustace."


	8. Chapter 8

_A Break from Monotony, _or, _How That Idiot Sirius Black Managed to Charm Me_

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: The fabulous Ms. Rowling is the owner of all characters from the Harry Potter series. Credit is given where credit is due.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

**Surprise, Surprise**

"I thought you didn't have an owl," Sirius asked, his mouth full of toast. A fleck of moist bread flew from his mouth and landed on a third year's face. Luckily for Sirius, however, the third year did not notice.

"I didn't," Morgana answered, stroking the owl's head. "Just got him this morning from my parents."

"What's the occasion?" Remus asked, though, he had swallowed his food before he started talking.

"It's my birthday," Morgana said absently, waving her hand in his direction. Eustace had now eaten half of her toast, and not wishing to share it with him, she reached for another slice.

"Oh, well, happy birthday, then," Remus said, smiling kindly at Morgana.

"Your birthday?" Sirius asked loudly, standing from the bench.

Morgana, who was almost accustomed to Sirius' loud proclamations, turned away from him and covered part of her face with her hand. She pretended to be having an in-depth conversation with the side of Judy's head.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Sirius was being quite loud, and receiving many puzzled and annoyed stares from the people around him.

"This is exactly why," Morgana said underneath her breath. She had seen what Sirius, James, and Remus pulled for Peter's birthday, which had only been a few weeks previous.

Sirius, James, and Remus, who were far too magically advanced for their ages, charmed Peter's robes to change color every hour or so. It caused quite the distraction in their classes, though, most teachers found it rather clever – Professor Flitwick had awarded the three of them five points each for "an excellent display of magic and personality!".

In addition to this, they had given Peter a large button to wear on the front of his robes that flashed, 'IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!' in large red and gold letters. Every time someone tapped it with their wand, it would start singing, 'Happy birthday' in a very nasally and very annoying voice.

And, for some reason, the button kept singing during lunch, though no one was tapping it with their wand. Eventually, everyone got irritated with it. Judy, who was probably the most irritated with the pin, went up to Peter, took the button from his robes, and threw it in the nearest trash bin. Sirius did not like this very much, but seeing as she had murder in her eyes at the time, did not retort until the next morning.

Let's just say that every kipper she tried to eat flopped off her plate and into her lap every time she approached it with her fork.

Furthermore, Sirius and James presented Peter with a large cake (Morgana noticed that Remus was far on the other side of the common room, his face completely buried in a book).

Very early in the term, the four boys had located the kitchens and figured out how to get in. They quickly befriended the house elves, and often came back to the common room with loads of food. They generally smuggled the food in their robes up to the dormitories, but occasionally they would share with the first year girls, if the girls were nice to them, of course.

The cake Sirius and James gave to Peter was very beautiful, with the words 'Happy birthday, Master Peter' in squiggly pink icing. Peter flushed a deep magenta when the cake was given to him in the middle of the common room with the majority of Gryffindor watching.

In true Gryffindor spirit (Morgana had to admit, she really liked the family atmosphere in the Gryffindor house), the common room came alive with a booming chorus of 'Happy birthday' and stayed to watch Peter blow out the candles.

These candles, however, were fireworks. And Peter, with his weak lungs, could not blow them out (though, there was not any hope, for a human being cannot blow out fireworks by merely using his or her lungs). Sirius and James gave each other menacing looks as the fuses burned further and further down.

And with a blast that shook the Gryffindor tower, the cake exploded, covering everyone in white frosting and chocolate cake.

Half of the common room was utterly disgusted, and ran off to the showers as quickly as possible. The other half (which did _not _include Judy, Morgana noticed), thought the prank was great fun, and proceeded to assist in the cleaning up process.

Morgana smiled despite of herself at the memory. She was still on the fence about Sirius Black. She liked his friends alright – James was hilarious, Remus was a complete sweetheart when he wasn't being an arse, Peter was a scared little school boy, but she liked him nonetheless – but something about Sirius still rubbed her the wrong way.

Perhaps it was because he kept trying to force himself into her life (or desk, whenever she had taken a spot he insisted on having), or because he walked around with a certain arrogance that made her livid, for some reason.

Sirius was rambling on about his plans to no one in particular, gesticulating grandly from his seat. He sent a pitcher of pumpkin juice soaring, and it splashed all over the toast-flecked third year's robes. He noticed this time.

The third year stood from the table and cursed loudly, causing McGonagall to take ten points from Gryffindor. The third year glared at Sirius and promptly left the Great Hall, presumably to change his robes.

Sirius was _still _talking when Morgana checked her watch and noticed the Gryffindor first years were due in Transfiguration in five minutes.

Morgana shoved one last piece of bacon into her mouth and hastily grabbed a piece of parchment and her new quill from her bag. She cleared a space in front of her and quickly wrote a thank you note to her parents.

She placed the letter in Eustace's beak. "Take this to mum and dad, okay?"

Eustace blinked in understanding and flew off. She replaced her quill in her bag and stood.

"That's all very nice, Sirius," Morgana said, cutting him off mid-sentence. "But class starts in a few minutes and we should probably head over."

Sirius looked down the table to find he had been talking to himself for a great deal of time. Everyone else had left for Transfiguration except Morgana and Sirius.

"Those prats," Sirius mumbled underneath his breath. He gathered his school things and walked down to the Transfiguration department with Morgana.

X

"Why, McGonagall? Why?" Morgana said dramatically before dropping her head down on top of her Transfiguration text book. The table her and Lily were working at was cluttered with parchment, quills, books, and inkwells.

Lily chuckled, but did not take her eyes off of her levitating apple. While almost everyone else was still working on levitating feathers, Professor Flitwick advised Lily to start working with denser items.

Morgana lifted her head from her book and looked over her half-finished essay. There was a smudge from where her forehead had rested on the yellowing parchment. She sighed and reached for another roll of parchment.

"I'm never going to finish this," Morgana moaned. "I think this will be the third time I've rewritten it."

"I don't see why you're so fussed to finish it," Lily said. "It's not due until next week."

"Well, with the essays from Barnes and Slughorn, the extra practice from Flitwick, and the detailed botanical drawing for Sprout, I won't have time next week to do this essay,"

"Hmm, I see," Lily said, allowing the apple to fall back to the table. "There's always the weekend."

Morgana stared at Lily from across the table. "I _sleep _on the weekends."

Lily laughed and took a bite from her apple. Morgana, who didn't really find it too amusing that she did not get adequate sleep on the weekdays, set to rewriting her essay onto a new piece of parchment.

An hour later, Morgana yawned widely and rolled up her parchment. The essay was not yet finished, but she resolved to complete it when she was less sleepy. Morgana began to clean up her surroundings when someone tapped her on the shoulder.

Morgana turned around, her quill between her teeth and her arms full of balled up pieces of parchment.

"Er," Remus said. "Let me…"

With a wave of his wand, the paper disappeared.

"Thanks," Morgana said, removing her quill from between her teeth. She knelt down to pack away her school things. "What do you need?"

"Um," Remus scratched the back of his neck before hastily taking Morgana by the hand.

She allowed herself to be pulled across the common room and up the stairs leading toward the boys' dormitories.

"Remus?" Lily asked loudly. "What are you doing?"

Lily was at the foot of the stairs, looking quite stern with Remus. "Um,"

"Those are the boys' dormitories. Girls aren't allowed up there!"

"Yes, I know. This wasn't my idea," Remus said, apologetically. "Just…come up with us. I suppose James wouldn't mind anyway…"

Lily did not hear the last part of Remus' sentence, but cautiously climbed up the stairs, looking around to make sure no one was watching.

"I swear, Remus, if we get in trouble…"

Remus led Morgana and Lily into the first year boys' dormitory. Nervously, he placed his hand on the doorknob and pushed the door open.

The first thing Morgana noticed was that it smelled terrible. "Merlin, it stinks in here!" She cried, pinching her nose.

"Sorry," Remus said, blushing at bit.

The three entered the circular dormitory. It was identical to the girls' dormitory, except the personal touches added by the boys were quite different. Morgana was quick to notice that posters of motorcycles and Muggle girls in very skimpy swimsuits adorned what she knew to be Sirius' four poster bed. Around James' bed were moving pictures of Quidditch players and Gryffindor banners. On Peter's night stand, there were many candy wrappers and empty Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans boxes. Remus' bed curtains were closed around his bed, but Morgana could see many boxes stacked on his night stand. Justin's area was not unlike the others'; he was representing his favorite Quidditch team and had a few personal pictures on his night stand.

"So now that we've seen your dormitory," Lily started, grabbing Morgana's wrist, "I think we will go now,"

Remus ran to the door and leaned against it, in what he thought was a cool manner. "You, uh, you can't leave."

Morgana raised one of her eyebrows at him. "Do I need to hex you?"

Beads of sweat were forming on his brow. "No, no. You do not need to hex me. You just can't leave."

"You have until the count of ten to tell us what you are up to, Lupin," Lily threatened, pointing her wand at him.

"I can't tell you!" Remus said frantically. "It's a surprise for Morgana!"

Lily lowered her wand and looked at Morgana. Morgana smiled and shrugged. "I suppose we could wait to see what the surprise is." She said to Lily.

Lily, Morgana, and Remus took seats at Peter and Remus' beds. Lily kept checking the door, as if she was scared McGonagall would walk in and expel her from the school.

Suddenly, a door did open, but it was not the door leading to the stairs. It was the door to the bathrooms. In the doorway stood Justin, who was clad in only a white fluffy towel.

"Remus! Why are there girls in the dorm?" He asked loudly, tightening her grip on the towel. "Girls aren't allowed in the dorm!"

"Oh, shut up, Justin," Remus said, waving him off. "They'll be gone soon enough."

"Fine," Justin said, striding quickly across the room. He gave the three a very nasty look before climbing into his bed and closing the curtains around him with unneeded force.

A few more minutes passed before the dormitory door opened. In strolled Sirius, James, and Peter, who were all looking quite cool (except Peter, who was trying really hard to look cool, but in reality, was sweating bullets). Behind them floated a massive cake.

"Remus, you were supposed to clear off one of the night stands so we could use it as a table," Sirius said, glaring at Remus.

"Sorry," Remus said. "I was trying to make sure they didn't escape."

Remus cleared off his night stand and charmed it to an open space in front of the beds. James, who Morgana soon found was performing the magic to make the cake float, let the cake fall neatly on the night stand with a soft _flump._

The cake was not unlike Peter's – it was white and pink as well, except the colors were reversed. The cake was luridly pink with white piping. In squiggly white letters, it read, "Happy birthday, Morgana!"

"Ta-da!" Sirius exclaimed, throwing his arms out. "Happy birthday!"

"Is this cake going to explode?" Morgana asked, tentatively. She approached the cake and prodded it with her finger, as if this would answer her question.

"No, this cake will not explode. We swear on pain of death," Sirius assured her. And, in Muggle fashion, he crossed his heart.

Morgana glanced at Remus, James, and Peter, each in turn, for affirmation of Sirius' oath.

"It won't explode," Remus said. "Trust me."

Morgana narrowed her eyes at him, but then relaxed. She smiled. "Alright, alright."

"Candles, Mr. Pettigrew?" Sirius said grandly. Peter handed him a small box of Muggle cake candles. Sirius placed eleven on the top tier and lit them with the tip of his wand. "And now, for a rousing chorus of 'Happy birthday'!"

The four boys and Lily sang loudly and horrendously to Morgana, who blushed furiously. She was not used to this form of concentrated attention. The song ended (thankfully) and Morgana blew out the candles, braced for a sudden explosion.

But as the boys promised, no explosion came.

"Peter, would you do the honors?" Sirius asked. He nudged Morgana in the ribs. "He cuts cake the best."

After the cake was magically cut and everyone had devoured at least one large slice of birthday cake, Lily and Morgana left for their own dormitory.

"Thank you, everyone," Morgana said, with her hand on the doorknob. "Seriously. That was wonderful."

She smiled at the four boys, bade them good night, and her and Lily left the dormitory. As the door was closing, Morgana and Lily heard Justin talking.

"Thank Merlin they're gone! I thought they would never leave!"

"Oh, shut up, Justin!" Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter said at once. There was a resounding _smush _and a loud yelp.

Morgana and Lily stifled back laughter as they descended the stairs.


	9. Chapter 9

_A Break from Monotony, _or, _How That Idiot Sirius Black Managed to Charm Me_

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: The fabulous Ms. Rowling is the owner of all characters from the Harry Potter series. Credit is given where credit is due.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9<strong>

**Sirius' Secret**

"You know, Lily," Morgana said as the two girls entered their dormitory, "I think something might be wrong with Sirius."

"I was thinking the same thing," Lily confessed, pulling off her robes. "I was expecting some form of theatrics or explosives-"

"But it was just a bloody cake!" Morgana finished, throwing her hands up. "I don't like it. I feel like something's coming."

"Maybe he's trying to lull you into a false sense of security," Lily suggested.

Morgana considered this, but found it to be unlikely. "Sirius isn't one for subtlety, though."

"He is pretty flashy with his pranks," Lily mused. "Well, I suppose you'll find out in the morning if he's got anything else up his sleeve."

"I can hardly wait," Morgana said sarcastically, before climbing into her four-poster and blowing out the candle on her night stand.

X

Morgana was met with no surprises the following morning. Her breakfast did not dance, her robes did not change colors, she was not presented with a nasally badge – and she gathered that the birthday surprises were over.

As she buttered a slice of toast, Sirius slid into the seat next to her. Remus, James, and Peter took seats across the table, Remus giving Morgana an all-knowing stare.

"Good morning, Sirius," Morgana said without looking at Sirius, "May I assist you in any way?"

"I-was-wondering-if-maybe-you-wanted-to-be-potions-partners-in-class-today?" He recited at top speed. James covered his face with his hands, Remus became rather interested in the Prophet, and Peter blushed furiously for Sirius.

Sirius, as well, was blushing. A first for him, Morgana assumed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that," Morgana said, smiling to herself, careful not to let Sirius see. Judy and Lily, who were sitting opposite Morgana, were both red-faced, holding back laughter.

Of course Morgana had heard what Sirius said, and understood it quite well. She just liked seeing him losing his cool.

Sirius was akin to a Greek God in the eyes of Susie and Geraldine, along with practically every other female at Hogwarts. He was suave when he was around them, mercilessly sweeping girls off of their feet and letting them crash painfully to the ground when he told them he just wanted to be friends.

Morgana, however, was a very different case. From the first day they met, he seemed to be less than smooth around her. Whether he had food in his teeth, potion on his robes, or had forgotten his pants, he was never quite as cool around Morgana as he was around any other girl.

Oh, how Morgana liked seeing him suffer.

Sirius took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "Perhaps we could be partners in Potions today," He said, obviously forcing himself to keep his cool.

Morgana gave Sirius a pitying smile and patted him tenderly on the hand. "I've already promised Remus I would be his partner in Potions every day for the rest of the school year."

This was true. Remus was so terrible at making potions that she had indeed promised to partner with him every time they had class to help him out. He was not as abysmal as he was at the beginning of the year, but he was still severely suffering in the class. It was the only class he had trouble passing.

Sirius frowned. "Oh," He said, clearly disappointed. "Alright then."

Sadly, Sirius slumped from the table and headed for the dungeons without eating breakfast or waiting for his friends.

Morgana, who was quite pleased with herself, returned to her toast and pumpkin juice. As she was munching away, she received a swift kick to the shins from underneath the table.

"What was that for?" She shouted at Remus, who clearly had done the assaulting.

"You could have just said yes to him," Remus said, unapologetically.

Morgana, confused, stared at Remus, her mouth slightly agape. "But why would I do that?"

James butted into the conversation. "Oh, come on Morgana. Isn't it obvious?"

"Isn't what obvious?" Morgana asked loudly. She faced Lily, asking silently if she knew what the boys were talking about. "What are you talking about?"

"Morgana," Remus said patiently, "The cake? The lack of a prank? Asking to sit with you during class? Can you seriously not-"

"Sirius Black doesn't like me, does he?" Morgana asked wildly. "You can't be serious."

"Serious as a heart attack," James said, before taking a bite out of a fried tomato. "The kid's got it bad."

Morgana stared blankly at the three boys. Remus seemed no longer interested in the conversation, and had returned his full attention to the Prophet. Peter shrugged at Morgana and continued to eat his breakfast. James looked rather disappointed with Morgana, but decided against pressing the conversation any further.

Rather confused, Morgana barely noticed that Eustace was sitting in front of her, hooting dolefully for her attention. It wasn't until Eustace gave Morgana a sharp nip on the finger until she noticed him.

Eustace had a letter in his beak and a velvet pouch tied to his ankle. Morgana took the letter and untied the pouch, and with a soft hoot, Eustace flew off to the Owlery.

The letter was from her aunt and uncle, wishing her a belated birthday. The pouch was filled with galleons and sickles. _How very thoughtful, _Morgana thought disappointedly to herself. Although it was nice to receive some form of acknowledgement from her extended family, she felt slightly uncared for to receive gold. If they had put forth the effort to get to know their niece, they would know full well that she would rather receive a nice, well thought out letter over all of the gold in the world.

She could not complain, however. Gold was better than nothing, and she saw this in the eyes of Remus as she stowed the pouch away in her school bag. She felt guilty, seeing as Remus always had the shabbiest robes of the group, but did not say anything to him as they walked down to the dungeons for Double Potions.

When Morgana, Lily, Judy, Remus, James, and Peter entered the dungeon, they noticed Sirius sitting glumly next to Geraldine, who was wearing a garish shade of orange eye shadow today and speaking very animatedly to him. Sirius, in these types of situations, would normally humor the girls in question, often flirting back shamelessly. Today, his heart did not seem into it, and he simply nodded and said, 'uh-huh' every time Geraldine paused to take a breath.

James, wishing to avoid Susie, who had taken a very large interest in him ever since he tried out for the Quidditch team, hastily dragged Peter over to the table Morgana and Remus usually occupied.

"Sorry, Evans, Judy," He said, placing his bag territorially on the table. "Can't risk Susie today."

Lily and Judy rolled their eyes and marched half-heartedly to the table occupied by Susie and Justin. Morgana glanced apologetically at the two of them; Lily shrugged and Judy pointedly ignored her.

Not unlike their last lesson, Slughorn lectured for the duration of the double class period. Morgana, James, Remus, and Peter all diligently took notes, seeing as none of them were well-versed at the subject at hand.

Every so often, Morgana would look up to find Sirius staring at her profile. She would meet his eye and he was hastily look away, taking deep interest in his quill or Slughorn's bulging belly. Morgana shook this off, thinking that perhaps, he was just staring off into space or had momentarily been scanning the room or was actually staring at James, trying to get his attention.

But after the fourth time this happened, Morgana could no longer kid herself. Sirius was staring at her. He was not taking notes. He was not flirting with Geraldine. He was not paying any attention to anything else but Morgana.

Morgana nudged Remus, whose quill trailed across his parchment.

"What?" He hissed, irritated that his perfect notes had been ruined.

"Did one of you slip him a love potion, or something? This is another one of your pranks, isn't it?" Morgana asked, vehemently, underneath her breath.

"Would we really do something like that?" He asked, staring at the long trail of ink across his notes. "That's too dangerous, even for us."

Morgana gave him a fierce stare, one that would make even the avidest of liars break. Remus stared back, unafraid and unflinchingly. She was forced to believe that he, nor James, nor Peter had anything to do with Sirius' new found attraction to Morgana.

She sighed and returned her attention to Slughorn, who was rambling aimlessly on about his most recent brush with Gwenog Jones of the Holyhead Harpies.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Yeah yeah yeah, I know. I'm really spastic with posting. I'd like to say this is because college is hard and I'm swamped with work and I'm busy being a social butterfly, but those would be blatant lies. I really haven't had much motivation to write because I feel like people aren't enjoying this piece. I have come to this conclusion because of a lack of reviews. I'm not going to be one of those people who threaten to stop posting if they don't get reviews because I am not one of those people. I'm just saying that it would be nice if I could get one once and awhile. Just a thought. :)<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

_A Break from Monotony, _or, _How That Idiot Sirius Black Managed to Charm Me_

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: The fabulous Ms. Rowling is the owner of all characters from the Harry Potter series. Credit is given where credit is due.<p>

* * *

><p>Goodness, I've been gone for awhile! I am so terribly sorry about that. I'm on winter break now, so I have a lot of time on my hands and therefore very few excuses. I hope to update soon!<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10<strong>

**Home for the Holidays?**

Before Morgana knew it, it was a week until Christmas. She still did not know whether she would be staying at Hogwarts or not during the holidays. For the past fortnight, she had been weighing the pros and cons on spare pieces of parchment.

_Go home:_

_- Get to see dad_

_- Have to spend time with mum_

_- Have to see Malcolm_

_- Have to see Maxwell_

_- Home cooked meal_

_- Don't have to see Sirius_

_Stay here:_

_- Don't get to see dad_

_- Don't have to see mum_

_- Don't have to see Malcolm_

_- Don't have to see Maxwell_

_- Sirius is staying at Hogwarts for the holidays_

_- No home cooked meal _

_- Sirius_

_- SIRIUS BLACK IS STAYING_

_- I WILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH SIRIUS BLACK_

Morgana had to confide in Lily, who seemed to have the best judgment when it came to these sticky matters.

"I suppose it comes down to who you dislike most – your mum or Sirius," Lily said the morning after term ended, packing her trunk for the train ride home later that afternoon. She was going home for the holidays, seeing as she actually liked her family was a feeling a bit homesick.

"That's like picking which pile of dung I'd like to step in first!" Morgana retorted loudly. "It's still bad!"

Lily laughed and closed her trunk, which was reluctant to shut completely. "Here, come sit on the lid with me."

Morgana walked to Lily and obliged, forcing all of her weight into her bum. With their combined weight, the trunk snapped shut, and Lily hastened to lock it before it could spring open again.

"I know you don't like either of them very much," Lily said, "But you can't just go nowhere."

Morgana sighed and stared at her trunk, which was half full. The rest of her possessions were still scattered about the dorm, and in some cases, strewn about the common room. "I guess I'll just stay, then."

"You must really dislike your mum," Lily commented, smiling.

"You have no idea," Morgana sighed again.

"Well, cheer up! At least Potter won't be here. I mean, Sirius might be a little more tame on his own," Lily said optimistically, sitting beside Morgana on her bed. "And Remus and Sev are staying, so that's good!"

Morgana looked blankly at Lily. "I'm not friends with Severus, remember?"

"Right," Lily said, blushing. "Well, maybe you should be friends! He's really nice! I know you'd like him."

"Severus Snape? Nice?" Morgana asked. "I mean, I know he's your best mate and everything, Lily, but he's not very nice."

"He is when you get to know him! You just have to give him a chance, that's all," Lily said, jumping from the bed. "He's a lot nicer than Sirius, anyway."

"I'll give him that," Morgana said, smiling. "Come on, let's get lunch."

The Great Hall was packed with students, sounding very much like King's Cross on a Monday morning. It seemed people were shouting at each other from across the room, each telling of their holiday plans. Lily and Morgana squeezed in at the Gryffindor table next to Judy and Peter, who were both too eager to go home to eat lunch.

Judy was in a rather good mood, and moved her things aside so Morgana could more comfortably sit on the bench next to her. "Have you finally made up your mind?" She asked loudly.

Morgana nodded. "I'm staying." She said loudly in Judy's ear. The noise in the Great Hall seemed to be raising exponentially with each passing minute.

Judy raised an eyebrow at Morgana. "You're staying? Even though Black is staying as well?"

Morgana shrugged, and attempted to pull a jug of pumpkin juice toward her. She found, however, that a pale hand was holding the handle. She met the gaze of the owner of the hand. It was none other than Sirius Black, who had a haughty expression playing on his face.

"So," He started, smirking charmingly, "I hear you're staying for the holidays."

"Nicely spotted," Morgana said, and tugged once more on the pumpkin juice, but Sirius maintained his grip on the handle. "May I please have the pumpkin juice, Sirius?" She asked through gritted teeth, trying to conceal her rising anger.

He let go of the jug, allowing Morgana to fill her goblet. "You know," He said, after she had taken a deep drink, "Remy is staying as well. Maybe we can have a game of Gobstones after this lot has gone off."

Remus, who was sitting beside Sirius, rolled his eyes at Morgana. She smiled, despite herself. Sirius seemed to have taken this as a friendly gesture toward his invitation, dropped his charm almost at once, and adopted a genuine smile. "Excellent! I've been dying to try out these new Gobstones my uncle sent me-"

"Actually, Sirius, I don't like Gobstones," Morgana said.

For a moment, Sirius stared blankly at her from across the table. "You don't like Gobstones? What kind of witch are you?"

Morgana shrugged, and began to butter a hot bun.

"What about Exploding Snap? You have to like Exploding Snap!"

"Isn't that a two person game? We wouldn't want to leave Remus out, would we?" Morgana asked, coolly.

"Remus doesn't mind to much, does he?" Sirius asked. There was a hint of desperation in his voice now.

"No, no, I don't mind at all," Remus said, smirking at Morgana. "I have some reading to catch up on anyway."

If Morgana could have reached Remus' foot, she would have stamped on it.

"I'm not a big fan of Exploding Snap, either," Morgana said, glaring at Remus, who quickly took a swill of pumpkin juice to hide his wide smile.

"What about Wizard's Chess? I have an old set I nicked from Filch's office-"

"Sirius!" Morgana said loudly, finally putting down her bun and knife. "I don't want to play any games with you today."

There was a stunned silence among the people around Morgana. _ No one _rejected Sirius Black. Not even Morgana Woodsworth.

Morgana, seemingly oblivious to the rippling effect she had just caused, returned to her lunch. A pink flush was creeping up her neck and threatening to spill onto her cheeks; she kept her head down.

Sirius did not speak for the rest of lunch, and nor did Remus. Every so often, Remus was shoot a glance at Morgana, as if trying to communicate some silent message to her, but Morgana dutifully kept her head bowed to her plate.

Admittedly, she felt bad for yelling at him, but it was his own fault. _He doesn't take hints very well, does he? He set himself up; it's not _all _my fault._

Lunch was marked as finished when McGonagall stood to announce that they would soon be loading the carriages to the ride to Hogsmeade station.

"But what about our things?" A first year Hufflepuff asked loudly.

"The house elves have already begun loading the carriages," McGonagall answered, magically making herself heard over the buzz in the Great Hall. "If you are leaving for the holidays, please form a line at the entrance of the Great Hall. Mr. Filch is going to check you all off-"

McGonagall hurried off, trying to make order out of chaos. As Morgana stood, she noticed Geraldine and Susie rush to Sirius' and James' sides to wish them farewell. Morgana went to say good bye to Lily, Judy, and Peter, who were clumped at the end of the Gryffindor table.

As they exchanged good byes, McGonagall hurried by, her hat slightly askew. Abruptly, she stopped in front of them. "Miss Woodsworth, have you made up your mind yet?"

"Yes, Professor," Morgana started politely, though she did have to shout over the din. "I'm going to be staying for the holidays."

"Very well," McGonagall said, and hurried off once more.

It was chaos as Morgana had never seen it before. She was inwardly glad that she would not have to deal with the disorder and disarray. She said one last good bye to her friends, and decided to go back to the common room to collect her things from the common room before Sirius got back in time to interrogate her further about her afternoon plans.

She was on the fourth floor when she heard running footsteps behind her. Quickly, she dodged sideways toward a large tapestry, hoping to hide from her pursuer (who she assumed was Sirius).

"I can see your feet, Morgana,"

It was Remus. Morgana sighed, relieved, and stepped out from behind the tapestry.

"And even if I couldn't see your feet, I saw you dash behind old Wilma there," He said to her, smiling. "Who'd you think I was?"

"Who do you think I thought you were?" Morgana asked. The two resumed walking back to the common room.

"Why can't you just give him a chance, Morgana?" Remus asked, ignoring her question.

"I don't like him," She said.

"And that's that?"

"No, I don't. Do I need any other reason? I could think of a few more for you, if you like," She answered sarcastically.

Remus chuckled appreciatively.

They did not speak until they got to the portrait of the Fat Lady. The apples of her cheeks were red, and, hiccupping, she asked, "Password?"

"Baubles," Remus said.

At the sight of Remus, the Fat Lady gave a pitying smiled and swung open. Once inside the common room, Morgana began to pick up her things.

"Hey, Remus?" She asked suddenly, trying to determine if a battered quill was hers or not.

"Hmm?" Remus had picked up a book and was sitting in one of the squashy arm chairs by the fire.

"Does the Fat Lady always make sad eyes at you or is that just my imagination?"

Without looking from his book, Remus replied, "She thinks I'm going to die soon. I heard her talking to her friend Violet about it one evening on my way back from the library."

"Lovely," Morgana said, and threw the quill back on the table where she had found it. She decided that even if it was hers, she no longer wanted it because of its battered state.

Shortly after, Sirius walked into the common room. Morgana made a point of gathering her things as quickly as possible and rushing up the stairs to the girls' dormitories.


	11. Chapter 11

_A Break from Monotony, _or, _How That Idiot Sirius Black Managed to Charm Me_

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: The fabulous Ms. Rowling is the owner of all characters from the Harry Potter series. Credit is given where credit is due.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11<strong>

**Happy Christmas**

Morgana awoke on Christmas Day not unlike how she had awoken every other day of Christmas break – to some form of shouting, yelling, screaming, or a small explosion.

This morning, it was all four. Sirius had somehow managed to reach a whole new level of annoying.

And Lily thought he would be tamer without James.

Morgana sighed and got out of her four poster bed. Pulling on her robe, she half noticed the pile of gifts at the end of her bed, but did not give them too much thought. She felt it was her responsibility to make sure that the common room was not on fire.

She was not alone in her trudge down the stairs. She was joined by the few other Gryffindor girls who had stayed at Hogwarts for the holidays. Morgana did not know any of them very well, but was not surprised when one asked her if it was Sirius again.

"I wouldn't doubt it," She answered, slightly ashamed to be associated with Sirius.

When the girls arrived in the common room, they found all was well. This, however, only meant that the explosion had occurred in the dormitory, which was smaller, and therefore, quicker to go up in flames.

Morgana was at the head of the group of girls as they ran up the stairs to the boys' dormitories. As they got closer and closer, they could hear frantic shouts from both Sirius and Remus.

"God dammit, Sirius! Put it out!"

"I would if I could, Remus!"

Morgana wrenched open the door to find one of the four poster beds in flames. Both Sirius and Remus, with their wands out, were standing as far away from the bed as possible. They both seemed at a loss for words and could not think of any proper spell to put out the flames.

Luckily for all of them, two of the girls knew a spell that produced jets of water. "_Aguamenti_!"

The others caught on, and after a few minutes, the flames died out, though, they left behind the unmistakable smell of burned fabric.

"Justin is going to kill me when he finds out," Sirius murmured, though no one laughed. It certainly was not funny.

The other girls left, muttering curses underneath their breaths. Shortly after, the Head Boy, who had taken the obvious time to put on his school robes, ran in, breathless, and demanded to know what had happened.

He need not ask, however. It was apparent what had happened.

The Head Boy could not speak properly, he was so angry. "I – I – what were you thinking? Were you even thinking?"

Sirius was at a loss for words for the first time in his entire life. Morgana was standing, stiff as a board, next to the Head Boy in the door way. Remus, surprisingly, was standing loyally by Sirius' side.

Sirius opened his mouth, but could not speak a single excuse before he was cut off by the Head Boy. "I have to report this to McGonagall, I hope you know."

Whatever color was left in Sirius' face drained at the mention of McGonagall's name. However, he did not retort nor protest, but hung his head in shame.

The Head Boy looked pleased with himself, and marched down the stairs, presumably to fetch McGonagall.

"Sirius?" Remus asked timidly, attempting to get a view of Sirius' face.

Morgana edged closer into the room, also curious to see Sirius' reaction to his impending punishment.

To Remus and Morgana's surprise, when Sirius lifted his head, he was smiling.

"Why the hell are you smiling?" Remus asked loudly. "You almost just burned the tower down! You're probably going to get expelled, Sirius!"

"I'm not too concerned," Sirius said, coolly.

"Well why the hell not?" Remus asked, his face redder than Morgana had ever seen it.

"I just mastered _Incendio _without help whatsoever," He said, his smile widening. "How bitchin' is that?"

Thoroughly irritated, Remus threw a pillow at Sirius and left the dormitory.

"You have to admit, it was pretty cool. James would have thought it was cool," Sirius said to Morgana, though he seemed to be looking for assurance.

"You're an idiot," Morgana said before leaving the dormitory as well.

Remus was slumped in a chair far from the fire, with his face in his hands and his elbows propped up on his knees. Awkwardly and nervously, Morgana approached him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He shot up quickly, causing Morgana to jump back in surprise.

"Sorry," He said gruffly.

Morgana shook her head. "Come on, let's get some breakfast."

"But we're not dressed-"

"It's Christmas, Remus. No one cares,"

The two were inches away from the portrait hole when it slammed open. It was McGonagall, followed by the Head Boy and, to Morgana's deepest surprise, the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore.

Morgana and Remus made to climb out of the portrait hole when McGonagall shouted at them. "No, you two come with us!"

They exchanged nervous glances, but followed without a word up the stairs to the boys' dormitories.

Sirius was sitting on his bed, still in pajamas, when the group entered the first year boys' dormitory. At the sight of Dumbledore, Sirius quickly got out of bed and stood.

"Good morning, Profess-"

"Mr. Black, do not attempt to charm us!" McGonagall said tersely. "Nathan tells us that you set fire to one of the four posters this morning."

McGonagall was livid. Dumbledore, however, was smiling serenely.

"Um, yes, Professor, it was an accident," Sirius said, not so bravely. His belief that he would avoid trouble was draining from him with every second.

"Mr. Black, someone could have been seriously injured! What if you had lit fire to Mr. Lupin's bed, or even your own?"

"I hadn't thought-"

"Naturally!" McGonagall cried, throwing her hands in the air. "Of course you hadn't thought!"

Sirius hung his head, and Morgana suspected that he was not smiling this time.

"Minerva," Dumbledore said suddenly. His voice was soft and calm. "Please, calm down."

"Calm down, Albus? This boy almost lit the castle on fire!"

"Almost, Minerva," Dumbledore smiled. "But, luckily, he only managed to light this bed on fire. And good riddance, I say. I did always hate these hangings."

Nathan, who had been nodding in approval with McGonagall the entire time, suddenly allowed his mouth to fall open. McGonagall looked shocked as well. "Albus," She started, "This boy-"

"Was merely experimenting with magic?" Albus said, his eyes twinkling at McGonagall. "I remember a time when you merely experimented with magic, Minerva. My beard had never been so blue."

"But, Albus,"

"Minerva, it's Christmas," Dumbledore said kindly. "Let's celebrate the fact that young Mr. Black here did _not _burn down the castle."

McGonagall said nothing, but merely stared at Dumbledore in disbelief.

"Now, I think Mr. Black should be awarded five points for a perfectly executed _Incendio _charm. And, how about another five for the students who helped put out the flames? Yes, I think that will do." Dumbledore winked at Sirius, whose face has lit up. "Come, Minerva, Nathan. There are some kippers awaiting us in the Great Hall."

Both McGonagall and Nathan were stunned beyond belief, but allowed themselves to be led out of the dorm by Dumbledore. Once he was sure he would not be heard, Sirius let out a loud laugh.

"I knew it!" He cried, pumping his fists in the air. "I _knew _I wouldn't get in trouble!"

There was two minutes of silence between the three first years. Sirius was eagerly awaiting praise, practically bouncing up and down as he smiled at Remus and Morgana.

However, Sirius was not awarded such admiration.

"I'm getting breakfast," Remus said, before leaving the dorm, shaking his head in utter disbelief.

Without any further comment, Morgana also left the dorm to join Remus in his pursuit of the Great Hall.

X

Morgana and Remus left the Great Hall at separate times and in separate directions.

"I need to return some books to the library," Remus said, referring to his bulging book bag.

"It can't wait?" Morgana asked.

"No," Remus said. "Definitely not. Madam Pince already let me keep them a few extra days."

Morgana groaned. "But I'm going to be alone with him!"

Remus rolled his eyes. "I'll catch up to you sooner than you think. Just go on without me."

"Ugh, fine then," Morgana said, waving Remus off.

Quite alone, Morgana climbed up seven stories worth of stairs. _Did Madam Pince eat you, Remus? _Morgana thought to herself, as she approached the Fat Lady's secret corridor.

"Baubles," Morgana said, in a rather bored tone.

"Happy Christmas to you, too," The Fat Lady said sarcastically. Perhaps she expected Morgana to burst into song?

Regardless, the Fat Lady swung open.

Morgana could not get one good look around the common room before she encountered a face full of Stink Sap.

"GOD DAMMIT, SIRIUS BLACK!"


	12. Chapter 12

_A Break from Monotony, _or, _How That Idiot Sirius Black Managed to Charm Me_

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: The fabulous Ms. Rowling is the owner of all characters from the Harry Potter series. Credit is given where credit is due.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12<strong>

**The Further Antics of Sirius Black**

"Sirius Black, you fix this right now!" Morgana yelled. Stink Sap slid into her open mouth, making her gag and cough.

"Er..., okay, right then," Sirius said, unsure. "Er..."

"If you don't think of something right now, I will hex the nose right off of your face!"

Both knew this was an empty threat, seeing as Morgana did not know any curses that could wreak such havoc, but, regardless, Sirius racked his brain for a spell that would remove the offending substance.

"What was the spell Remus used to remove the gravy I spilled on my robes that one time?" Sirius asked frantically.

"I don't know, Sirius, but you better remember soon, or else I'm going to kill you!" Morgana screamed, Stink Sap seeping lazily from her face and hair down to her robes.

Remus, who had returned from the library with two new books in his arms, climbed through the portrait hole to find a very smelly and irate Morgana and Sirius cowering behind his wand.

Dropping his books, Remus swiftly pulled his wand from his robes, pointed it at Morgana's face, and cried, "_Tergeo_!"

The Stink Sap and its disgusting odor vanished into thin air. Unfortunately for Sirius, Morgana's fury was not so easily charmed away. "What the hell was that for?" She yelled.

There was no one but Sirius and Remus to witness the scene Morgana was making. Both the smell and Morgana's insurmountable rage drove the other Gryffindors from the common room. And, lucky for them, Remus thought, because Morgana now had her wand out and was pointing it directly between Sirius' eyes.

"Now, now, Morgana," Sirius said, putting his hands up in both defense and defeat, "Put your wand down."

"And why should I, Sirius?" She hissed, advancing on him.

"Because," Remus said firmly, stepping between the two. "You'll get in a lot of trouble if you kill him, Morgana."

"I don't care, Remus," Morgana seethed, "Now get out of the way or I'll jinx you too!"

"Remus, get out of the way," Sirius said from behind him. "It's not worth us both getting hurt."

"No one is going to get hurt, Sirius," Remus said, not breaking eye contact with Morgana. "Because Morgana is going to lower her wand."

"Remus-"

"Morgana, put your wand down," Remus said calmly.

Morgana sighed, but lowered her wand as told. It was clear in both her expression and demeanor that she no longer wished to harm Sirius, so Remus stepped aside.

Sirius was still cowering, however, and was not so willing to believe that Morgana was not going to hex him.

The three stood in silence for a few moments, before Sirius opened his mouth to speak. "Morgana, look, I'm sorry. I didn't think you were going to come through the portrait hole. I thought it was going to be Remus."

"And why would you want to douse Remus in Stink Sap, if you two are such good friends?" Morgana asked, her arms crossed over her chest.

"It would have been funny," Sirius said, as if this were a commonly known fact.

"I don't think it would have been funny," Remus chimed in as he picked up his library books from the floor. "I don't think it would have been funny at all."

"Remus, it would have been hilarious,"

"I have never before questioned your sense of humor," Remus said, without the faintest smile on his face, "Until now."

With that being said, Remus left Morgana and Sirius in the common room.

"What's with him?" Morgana asked Sirius, forgetting that she was still really upset with him.

"Maybe it's his time of the month?" Sirius shrugged. "My cousin Bellatrix acts like that at certain times of the month…though it's not much different from how she normally acts…"

"Don't be an idiot, Sirius. Boys don't have a time of the month," Morgana said.

"Well, whatever," Sirius said, falling into one of the squashy arm chairs. "Wanna play Gobstones?"

"No, Sirius, I do not want to play Gobstones," Morgana said before taking her leave.

During the rest of Christmas holiday, Sirius sent Morgana an owl every day with an apology letter in its beak. He asked her seven more times if she would like to play Gobstones with him; even though she told him numerous times that she did not like the game. She even dumped her brand new Gobstones in a bin the fifth time he asked.

One memorable morning, she found out what happened when a boy tries to enter the girls' dormitories. She and the rest of the Gryffindor girls who stayed for Christmas awoke to an extremely loud wailing noise very early in the morning. In their night clothes, they all ran to see which silly boy had attempted to climb the stairs.

They found Sirius Black sprawled out on the floor, thoroughly confused as to why the stairs turned into a stone slide beneath his feet.

Another morning, Morgana found that her waffles changed colors every so often. She was grateful when they did not dance away when she tried to cut them down to size. Sirius was trying but failing to hide his laughter from across the table.

One evening, Sirius transfigured Morgana's school bag into a pig but could not figure out how to transfigure it back. As usual, Remus had to step in and perform some complicated magic to fix everything. The bag, however, now had a pink, fleshy color rather than its original olive green.

Needless to say, Morgana was incredibly happy to see the other students return for the next term.

Lily was appalled to hear about all of the things Sirius had done. "I thought he would have been better without Potter," Lily said while unpacking her trunk. "I'm sorry you had to endure all that, Morgana."

Lily's holiday had gone much better than Morgana's. Her parents wanted to hear everything about Hogwarts, even though her Muggle sister did not. "She hates that we go to different schools now," Lily had said, "I think she's jealous, really."

For Christmas, Lily's parents gave her a cat, which she named Butch Cassidy after a character in a Muggle film she and her dad always watched together. She said that they wanted to get her an owl, but there were no pet stores in London that sold them. "Of course, they couldn't go to Diagon Alley. They're both Muggles!" He was a lazy, fat cat, but cute, nonetheless. His mere existence bothered both Sirius and Peter, though neither Lily nor Morgana could figure out why. Morgana, having always been more of a cat person, thought he was sweet, and found he was an excellent addition to the dormitory.

James also came back to Hogwarts with a new pet – though his parents gave him an owl, seeing as they were both wizards and therefore had no problem traveling to Diagon Alley. He named his new, snowy owl Merlin, because apparently, he was that brilliant.

The first night in the dormitories, Morgana later found out from Remus, Merlin had pooped on Justin.

Sirius was much less annoying now that his friends were back. Morgana saw less and less of him, which she did not mind in the slightest. Even his owl stopped delivering letters.

Morgana was excited to go back to classes every day. She would take back breaking school work over a bored Sirius Black any day of the week.


	13. Chapter 13

_A Break from Monotony, _or, _How That Idiot Sirius Black Managed to Charm Me_

* * *

><p>Disclaimer: The fabulous Ms. Rowling is the owner of all characters from the Harry Potter series. Credit is given where credit is due.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 13<strong>

**Sirius Black, the Tactless Wonder**

For the first couple of days back after break, Sirius seemed to have forgotten that Morgana existed. This suited Morgana well, because this meant she was able to focus in her classes and spend quality time with Lily and Judy.

That Thursday, however, Sirius plopped down in the seat next to Morgana at breakfast, leaving barely enough space for her to maneuver her right arm to dish out some sausages.

"May I help you?" She asked, scooting to her left.

"I just wanted to say hi," Sirius answered.

"Why don't I believe you?" Morgana asked, slicing up her sausages one by one.

"Because you always suspect me of having hidden motives," He responded coolly, pouring himself some pumpkin juice.

"That's because you _have _hidden motives, Sirius," Morgana said, before popping a slice of sausage into her mouth.

Remus, who was sitting across from them, snorted.

"How dare you accuse me of such indecencies?" Sirius asked, feigning disbelief. "Can't I just say hello to a friend?"

"Anyone else can," Morgana said. "You, however, cannot."

Sirius, who was carefully picking out the perfect piece of toast, did not say anything for awhile. "You see! You don't even object! What do you want, Sirius?"

"Actually, I was hoping you could help me with some Charms tonight," Sirius said, selecting a golden piece of toast. "I'm absolutely hopeless with this whole flying thing, and, according to Lily, you're quite good."

Morgana glanced up, to see Lily wearing quite the guilty expression. She mouthed 'sorry' from across the table.

"Couldn't you have asked James or Remus or...anyone else?" Morgana asked, helplessly. She could not imagine working with Sirius in close proximity in her free time. It was bad enough, in her opinion, that she had classes with him.

"Er," Sirius said, his cheeks going slightly pink. "I did."

"And they said they wouldn't help you?" Morgana asked, staring pointedly at Remus, who stared just as pointedly back, smirking slightly.

"Yeah," Sirius said, quietly.

Morgana, despite her deep dislike of the boy, felt pity for him. "Okay, fine." She said. "I'll help you practice levitation. But you have to promise to leave me alone afterwards, okay?"

"Bitchin'!" Sirius cried. He side-hugged her, much to her dismay, and returned hungrily to his breakfast.

Morgana, who felt eyes upon her, turned to her left to see Geraldine and Susie looking quite mutinously at her. Morgana rolled her eyes at them and, deciding she was no longer hungry, stood from the table.

"Hold up, Morgana!" Lily called. "Are you going down to Potions already? I'll come with you."

Once the two were quite well out of earshot from Sirius, Morgana rounded on Lily. "Why'd you tell him I'm good at levitation? I don't want to help him!"

"Well, to be honest, I already promised Sev that I would go for a stroll with him this evening, and I didn't want to tell Sirius that when he came asking," Lily said hurriedly. "You know how he feels about Sev."

"Why does it matter how he feels about Sev?" Morgana interjected loudly.

"I would never hear the end of it," Lily said, shrugging. "I already don't like talking to Sirius."

"Fair point," Morgana said, nodding. "But neither do I! So why did you tell him to talk to me about his levitation problems?"

"He asked if I would help him, and I didn't want to tell him about Sev, so I lied and told him I was absolute rubbish at making things fly," Lily answered, guiltily.

"That is a complete and utter lie!" Morgana said loudly. "You are brilliant at making things fly!"

"I didn't want to help him, Morgana!" Lily whined. "He asked me if I knew anyone who could help him, and you were the first person to come to mind." She added. "I'm really sorry, Morgana, but I was thinking on my feet."

Morgana sighed heavily, but said nothing. Lily and Morgana finished the rest of their journey to the dungeons in silence, where they stood outside of Slughorn's door, awaiting their classmates.

Morgana finally broke the silence. "Sirius really needs to find better friends," She said. Lily look puzzled. "They all know how to make things fly! It's second nature to them."

x

Time is a funny thing. It runs slowly when you're anticipating something, and yet, unbelievably fast when you are dreading something else.

Morgana's classes seemed much shorter and seemed to go by much faster than normal. Before she knew it, she was eating dinner with Lily, Judy, and Remus, very much dreading her impending levitation lesson with Sirius.

Remus had brought a book to the dining table, presumably to avoid conversation with Morgana that evening. He seemed to be very intent upon this book, which was one Morgana did not recognize, only surfacing every so often for a bite of pie or a swig of juice. Morgana realized exactly what he was doing and was therefore getting more and more irritated with him.

"Remus!" She hissed at him, as he dabbed at the corners of his mouth with a napkin. "You know perfectly well how to making things fly! Why couldn't you teach him?" She asked, keeping her voice low so it would not carry down to where Sirius was sitting.

Remus put down his book and folded his napkin before answering. "I'm…busy tonight, if you must know."

"Busy doing what?" Morgana asked wildly. "So busy that you can't help your friend?"

"Yes," Remus answered. "I'm too busy to help him."

Morgana glared at Remus, but knew that he was not making excuses. "Well, whatever you're doing surely does not prevent James or Peter from helping him."

"As I recall, James told Sirius to get stuffed when he asked, and Peter sort of shrunk in either fear or admiration, but even if he could muster up the courage to work with Sirius in a one-on-one situation, Peter doesn't really talk, does he?"

"No, I suppose he doesn't," Morgana answered, looking down the table to where Sirius, James, Peter, Susie, and Geraldine were sitting. Peter looked on in what could have been either fear or admiration as James and Sirius flirted relentlessly with Susie and Geraldine. "I see your point."

"So that leaves you," Remus shrugged. "The giggling twins over there don't know anything, Lily's got her date thing with Severus, and Sirius is too proud to ask Justin for anything less than a...well, let's just say he's too proud to ask."

"Anything less than a _what_?" Morgana asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes at Remus.

"It's just something Sirius says," Remus shook his head. "It's rather inappropriate. Please don't make me repeat it."

Morgana and Remus shared a moment of silence, before he stood. "I must be going now," He said, darkly.

"See you tomorrow, then," Morgana said, waving him off.

After Remus left, Morgana looked at her plate and found she was no longer hungry. "I guess I'll be going too," She said to Lily and Judy. "I'll see you in the common room."

Sirius stood eagerly as Morgana passed him, and, not unlike a puppy, followed her back to the common room.

When they got there, Morgana saw no evidence of Remus whatsoever. "Hey, Sirius," She said, pulling her wand out of her bag. "Where's Remus going tonight?"

"I asked him the same thing this morning," Sirius said. "He said his mum's ill and that he had to go visit her. I asked him what was wrong and he wouldn't tell me. I think she might have something embarrassing, like the Clap or something."

"That is disgusting, Sirius," Morgana said, trying very hard not to think of Remus' mum. "And it was very tactless of you to ask what was wrong with her."

"What does tactless mean? Because I've been called that before and I'm starting to think it doesn't mean handsome." Sirius asked seriously.

Morgana stared in disbelief at the boy before her. "Let's start, okay?"


End file.
